Russian parliament begins paving way for Putin to run for president again

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened the door to constitutional changes that would allow him to remain in power until 2036, but said he favoured term limits once the country became politically "mature."

Putin, who in January unveiled a major shakeup of Russian politics and a constitutional overhaul, is required by the constitution to step down in 2024, when his second sequential presidential term and fourth term overall ends.But a United Russia lawmaker proposed earlier on Tuesday amending the constitution in a way that would reset Putin's presidential term count back to zero.

"The proposal to remove restrictions for any person, including the incumbent president. In principle, this option would be possible, but on one condition if the constitutional court gives an official ruling that such an amendment would not contradict the principles and main provisions of the constitution," Putin said.

He said U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt serving four terms because of the upheaval his country was going through at the time was an example of why presidential term limits were sometimes superfluous.

"In conditions when a country is experiencing such shocks and difficulties, of course stability is perhaps more important and must be a priority," he said, adding that Russia was still recovering from the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

A former KGB officer, Putin, 67, has served four presidential terms in total and also done a stint as prime minister, dominating the Russian political landscape for two decades.

Kremlin critics to demonstrate

If, as Putin's critics suspect, the constitutional court gives its blessing to the amendment and it is backed in a nationwide vote on April 22, Putin could serve another two back-to-back six-year terms.

Were he to do that, and his health and electoral fortunes allowed, he could stay in office until 2036. At that point, he would be 83.

Putin has not spelled out what his plans for the future are, but he has said he does not favour the Soviet-era practice of having leaders for life who die in office.

Valentina Tereshkova, a United Russia lawmaker,told parliament she was proposing amending the constitution in a way that would reset Putin's presidential term count back to zero.

Explaining the surprise move, Tereshkova said voters had told lawmakers in recent meetings that they wanted Putin to "stay nearby," whatever constitutional changes occurred.

"What if suddenly something goes wrong?" asked Tereshkova. "He will be able to support, help and have our backs."

Her proposal came as parliament was examining and preparing to vote on Putin's constitutional shakeup in the second of three readings, something it later did, approving it and Tereshkova's amendment.

Opposition activists said they planned to protest against what some called a rewriting of the constitution in the interests of the ruling elite. One group said it had applied for permission to stage a demonstration on March 21.

Kremlin critic and opposition politician Alexei Navalny said he believed Putin was now set to become president for life, while Navalny's ally, Ivan Zhdanov, decried the move as tantamount to a constitutional coup.