Putin says no plan to orchestrate succession

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin pledged today to give Russians a ''free democratic choice'' in next year's presidential election and said he would express his own preferences during the campaign.

In a wide-ranging annual news conference with domestic and foreign reporters, Putin hailed Russia's growing economic might and described the idea of creating an OPEC-style group to coordinate the world's top gas producers as ''interesting''.

Putin's second term of office ends in March 2008. The constitution prohibits a third consecutive term so there is intense speculation about whom the president, whose opinion poll ratings remain high, may endorse to follow him.

''There will be no successor,'' Putin told his annual news conference from a dais in the Kremlin's Round Hall.

''I reserve the right to express my preferences but I will do it only during the election campaign.'' Putin looked relaxed and confident, cracking jokes with reporters and generally striking a conciliatory tone in comments on foreign policy.

GAS OPEC ''INTERESTING'' But in remarks likely to concern European governments who depend heavily on Russian gas imports, the Russian president for the first time commented favourably on the idea of creating an OPEC-style group of world gas producers.

Russia, the world's top gas producer, has recently been in talks with fellow gas powers Iran and Algeria.

''Gas OPEC is an interesting idea,'' Putin said.

''We are trying to coordinate our efforts in third country markets. We do not intend to set up a cartel but we will continue to coordinate our activities bearing in mind the key goal of serving the energy security of our customers.'' Putin rejected Western criticism that Russia deployed its vast energy resources as a political weapon to reward allies and punish countries failing to toe the Kremlin's line.

Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in January 2006 and briefly halted oil deliveries to Belarus last month. In both cases this followed rows over Moscow's attempts to reduce energy subsidies to its former Soviet neighbours.

''We are always told that Russia is using its...economic resources to achieve its foreign policy aims. This is not the case,'' Putin said.

''Not only did Russia grant sovereignty to these republics, it provided enormous subsidies...and helped strengthen their independence and sovereignty for 15 years.

''Fifteen years is a sufficiently long period of time. It cannot go on forever,'' he said.

CLOSING THE GAP Putin said that although Russia's GDP reached 1 trillion dollear last year, the top priority was still to raise living standards.

Russia's rapid and unpredictable transition to capitalism since the collapse of the Soviet Union has seen huge disparities in wealth emerge between billionaire businessmen and dirt-poor peasants eking out an existence in shrinking villages.

''Everything has to be subordinated to raising living standards and the quality of life,'' Putin commented. It was vital to ''narrow the gap between wage earners''.

Quizzed about the high-profile murders last year of two Kremlin critics, former spy Alexander Litvinenko and journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Putin said he did not believe in conspiracy theories.

In both cases, law enforcement services would hopefully solve the crimes, he said.

Some 1,232 foreign and Russian journalists registered to attend the news conference, a record number since Putin began the annual ritual in 2001, the presidency said.

RREUTERS AKJ PM1829