Ivanov denies he will run for President

Moscow, June 9 (UNI) Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov today denied he would run for President next March.

Ivnaov told journalists in St Petersburg that he had assumed his present position in the Cabinet only three months ago and was not prepared for the presidency.

"I became First Deputy Prime Minister only three months ago. It was uncharted territory: transport, technologies, science and telecommunications. I must say it was a new professional field for me," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

"It would be naive to say that I have become an expert and can go further. Thus, I am doing my job in the field assigned to me by the President or the Prime Minister," Ivanov said, referring to speculations that he would succeed President Vladimir Putin. Putin, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, has left the door open for a return to the Kremlin in 2012, leading business daily Kommersant reported today.

"There is still a lot of time," the daily quoted Putin as telling reporters yesterday, during a G8 summit in Germany, when asked whether he would run in 2012.

"Theoretically it is possible. The constitution does not forbid it.

But it is very far away, I have not even thought about this," he said.

On one level, the remark could be taken as a straight statement of fact: while the 1993 Russian Constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, it allows them to seek re-election later.

Putin has repeatedly said he was opposed to amend the constitution to enable him to contest the nest presidential elections.

Another First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in charge of Putin's key national programmes, is also a front-runner for President.

UNI