Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he might choose to stay in office for life, The Hill reported.
"I have not yet decided yet whether I will leave the post of the president or not," Putin told students in Sochi. "Only after I answer this question for myself will I think about my next step."
Putin will be up for re-election in 2018. He served two terms as president from 2000 to 2008, returning again in 2012. Russian law prevents a president from serving more than three terms. In 2011, terms were extended from four to six years.
Putin said he was considering "many" options he could pursue after his presidency, saying there were "a lot of interesting things to do in the world."
"There are public organizations and there are other areas that are very interesting to me, for example, ecology," he said. "First, the main question should be answered."
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul claimed in December that Putin meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in an effort to undermine Democratic candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Let's remember that Vladimir Putin thinks [Clinton] interfered in his election — the parliamentary election in December 2011 — and has said as much publicly, and I've heard him talk about it privately," McFaul said.
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