Russia’s Putin drops cryptic hint on 2024 exit in press marathon

The president was coy about his political future and would not be drawn on suggestions he could extend his rule as head of a Russia-Belarus union

Now in his fourth term after ceding the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev and serving as PM for four years, Vladimir Putin is legally bound to step down in 2024

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Russian President Vladimir Putin at his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:19pm, 19 Dec 2019Updated: 5:01am, 20 Dec 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin dropped a cryptic hint on Thursday about the possibility of staying in power beyond 2024, denounced the impeachment of his US counterpart Donald Trump and questioned whether human activity is the real cause of climate change.

In a break from what has become tradition at his closely managed annual press conference – which this year clocked in at four hours and 25 minutes – the 67-year-old leader launched straight into a question-and-answer session with the more than 1,000 reporters in attendance, instead of delivering his usual opening remarks about the Russian economy.

Putin, who has been in power since 1999, remained coy about his political future and refused to answer if he could potentially extend his rule by shifting into a new governing position as the head of a Russia-Belarus union.

Now in his fourth term as president – after ceding the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev and serving as prime minister for four years between his second and third term – Putin is legally bound to step down in 2024.

Putin arrives for his annual news conference. Photo: AP

There have been calls to change a clause in Russia’s constitution which allowed Putin to serve more than two terms, and he acknowledged on Thursday that this clause “troubles some of our political analysts and public figures”, indicating he was in favour of removing the word “successive” from it.