Russia’s Putin says unsure he will run for president again

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia for 16 years, says he has not decided yet if he is going to run for office again.

Putin was elected in 2000 after Boris Yeltsin named him his successor and resigned on New Year’s Eve.

Putin said in an interview with the Bloomberg news agency released on Monday that it is “too early” to speak about his possible fourth term in office and that he “has not decided anything for myself yet.”

Putin stepped down in 2008 due to term limitations and assumed the prime minister’s seat for four years before running for president again in 2012. His ratings were high but on their way down before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, a move immensely popular with the Russian voters.

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