Putin ‘agrees’ to reset term limits — and extend his presidency to 2036

Loyal parliamentarians offer a convenient way for the president to stay on into his 80s

(AP)

Vladimir Putin appears to have ended speculation about his intentions to remain in office by supporting a bid to reset presidential term limits.

Under current term limits, the Russian president would have been obliged to leave office in 2024, at the end of two consecutive terms. In January, he proposed changing the constitution that would limit the presidency to two terms overall. On face value, that created additional barriers to Mr Putin staying on — the solution favoured by most of Russia’s ruling class.

On Tuesday, parliamentarians offered a not-unexpected lifeline to their patron.

Valentina Tereshkova, a former cosmonaut and uber loyal deputy of the ruling party fraction in the State Duma, said changes should be dictated by the will of “the people.” But her opinion was clear: either the term limit should be removed, or reset for Mr Putin.

Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin convened a 90 minute pause in the parliamentary sitting to “discuss” the proposals. A short while later Mr Putin made the short trip over from the Kremlin to give his reaction.

He said he was open to the idea of a further two elections — extending his tenure to his 80s, and comfortably past the previous record innings set by Joseph Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev.

“It’s a possible option in principle, but on one contrition: if the constitutional court decides that such an amendment will not contravene the constitution,” Mr Putin said. “We aren’t adopting a new constitution, but making significant amendments to it.”

Under the proposals Mr Putin put forward, appointments to the constitutional court are to be made by the president himself. This is one of several areas that will see presidential power increased.

Resetting presidential terms was seen by many experts as the most straightforward way for the president to get around his 2024 problem - but also the most cynical.

In 2011, Russian public opinion reacted strongly against a similarly transparent manoeuvre. Mr Putin’s return to office in place of Dmitry Medvedev was met with massive street protests that at one point threatened to spiral out of control.

Speaking at parliament, Mr Putin insisted his aim was to leave a democratic legacy. He would not support removing the term limit in entirety, for example.

“If the country is to be dynamic, it needs its leaders to change,” he said.