Interfax: Putin has not yet decided whether he will run for president in 2018 – Peskov

MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has not decided yet whether he will run for president in 2018, his press officer Dmitry Peskov said.

The question as to whether Putin will nominate his candidacy in the upcoming elections arose in connection with the statements about the Russian president made by a White House official, who accused the Russian leader of corruption, which the Kremlin regarded as the beginning of the U.S. preparations for the election campaign in Russia.

Answering a question whether it meant Putin has not yet decided to run in the upcoming elections, Peskov said: “You got it right. Essentially, there is no need to make a decision now because the elections are a long way off,” Peskov told reporters.

Responding to the example that the U.S. is beginning preparations for elections in advance, Peskov said: “You see what is happening in the States.”

Responding to a question as to when a decision on the nomination of candidacies for presidential elections is made in Russia, Peskov said: “When the election campaign begins. It’s not an issue.”

[featured image is file photo]