MOSCOW - President
Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he does not favor major changes in the constitution, but gave a less categorical answer to the question of whether he would remain in office after his second term ends in 2008.
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In response to a caller's question on live television on whether he could run for a third term, Putin said that he did not see it as his task to stay on indefinitely.
"I see my task as not sitting in the Kremlin eternally so that the same face will be shown on TV. ... I see my task as creating conditions for the country's long-term development, so that young and literate managers come to govern the country.
"I don't consider it appropriate to introduce any changes in the constitution," he said, then added a qualifying remark, noting that "as they say in the military, 'I'll find my place in the order of things'" after 2008.
Putin, who still enjoys a 70 percent approval rating, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Speculation has been rife that the Kremlin is searching for ways to keep him in place after his second term ends.
His comments came during what has become an annual ritual: a live, televised question-and-answer session moderated by anchors of two Kremlin-controlled channels. People were urged to pose their questions by Internet, telephone, text message or video linkup with selected audiences in 12 towns across the nation.
The Ekho Moskvy radio station commented that "no uncomfortable questions will be posed to Vladimir Putin