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Kremlin: Putin made no statements on participation in 2018 presidential election

According to the Kremlin spokesman, President Putin has repeatedly said that he believes it is early to make any statements on elections

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not so far made any statements on whether he will take part in the presidential elections in 2018, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, in comments to reports on parameters of the upcoming election campaign.

"President Putin has repeatedly said that he believes it is early to make any statements on elections, he has not made any statements so far, there is enough time before the beginning of the election campaign," Peskov said, stressing that "the agenda for today is different."

A source in the Kremlin administration earlier told reporters that the federal government sets the task before the heads of Russian regions to hold legitimate presidential elections, and any violations will be punished.

One of participants of meetings between experts and regional authorities with representatives of the Kremlin administration said legitimacy is a key target parameter of successful presidential elections. Another important indicator is if the winner secures more votes than during the previous polls. The third indicator is that the absolute number of votes cast for the winner should be more than for candidates in the previous campaigns, the source added.

Russia’s presidential elections will be held in March 2018. The polls won’t be rescheduled and will be held as earlier planned, the source in the presidential administration said.