Putin seeks to calm speculation over his successor

MOSCOW, June 16 (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin tried today to calm speculation about who will succeed him in 2008, suggesting the top Kremlin job might go to an outsider rather than one of the two fancied contenders.

Analysts said Putin's comments reflected Kremlin concerns his authority could be undermined if his succession was perceived as a two-horse race between Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Speaking in Shanghai, Putin, 53, repeated he would not run for a third term despite evidence of popular support for such a move, as it would require constitutional changes.

Asked by journalists if the next president might be someone other than Ivanov and Medvedev, he said: ''Yes, that's possible, especially since the list (of present contenders) is not very long.'' Pressed on whether there could be an unknown outsider, he said: ''Completely unknown? Not really. Such people are known to everyone but their names are simply not mentioned.'' However he was careful in his remarks, reported by Russian news agencies, not to rule out either Medvedev or Ivanov.

The question of who will lead Russia, an energy superpower seeking to reassert itself as a global player, is the country's hottest political topic.

Putin has made it clear he will name an heir-apparent, as he himself was anointed by former president Boris Yeltsin in 1999.

Though an heir would have to be elected, endorsement by the highly-popular Putin would make their election likely.

Ivanov, a friend from Putin's days as a KGB spy, and Medvedev, a lawyer from his home town of St Petersburg, were given top government jobs in November and the Kremlin seemed to be pointing to one of them as the next president.

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