The next president of Russia should be like Vladimir Putin, said the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with the student news channel “MGIMO 360”, TASS reported.
“Such” – this is Peskov’s answer to a question about what the next president of Russia should be. On the subsequent clarifying question whether this is possible, he says: “It could be another person, but one like him.”
Peskov says he hopes that Putin will run for a new term and is therefore confident of his victory. According to the Kremlin spokesman, it is difficult to say whether, if it is another person, the next president of Russia will be able to preserve everything that Putin has achieved, BTA adds.
The current president of Russia has the right to run for a new term, although he has not yet spoken about his decision on this matter.
“At the moment, Putin has not announced his intention to run for president. But I sincerely want to believe that he will. I have no doubt that he will win the election, I have no doubt that he will continue to be our president. And it’s obvious that it will be,” Peskov also says.
The presidential election of Russia should be held on March 17 next year. Officially, the date should be set for next month, after which the political parties should conduct their election campaigns and officially nominate candidates, according to TASS.
“MGIMO 360” is an information portal of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations – a university under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
From May 2021, the channel’s correspondents are journalists from the ministry’s press office, who cover the working visits abroad of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, TASS notes.
