Russian loophole offers Putin chance of third term

By Christian Lowe - Analysis

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin could run for re-election in next year's presidential vote if he resigns early to get around a ban on serving three consecutive terms, a lobbyist close to the Kremlin has said.

Putin has said he will step down next year and let someone else take over. His spokesman said that has not changed. But a source with Kremlin links told Reuters the option of exploiting legal loopholes is being pushed by parts of his entourage.

Under that scenario, Putin could announce as early as this month that he is stepping down ahead of term. His prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, would become caretaker president and Putin would run in the scheduled March 2008 presidential vote.

The question of what Putin will do next is preoccupying Russians and foreign investors because he wields huge personal power in his vast, nuclear-armed country, many people see him as a guarantor of stability and he has no clear successor.

Western companies as well as foreign governments, for all their reservations about his democratic credentials, also see him as a "known figure" with whom they can deal.

"It is quite possible for Putin to run as a candidate for the presidency in the 2008 elections," Alexander Shokhin, the head of Russia's biggest business lobby, told Russia's Itogi magazine this week.

"And there is no need to change the constitution," he said. "Gaps remain in the law."

Russia's constitution states that "one and the same person cannot occupy the post of President of the Russian Federation for more than two consecutive terms."