MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements on a possibility of selective amendments to the Russian Constitution demonstrate his striving towards maximally balanced and stable political system, Anna Fedorova, vice president of the Open New Democracy Fund, told TASS on Thursday.
Putin said at his traditional end-of-year news conference earlier on Thursday that he though it is possible to remove the reservation "consecutive" from the Russian Constitution’s provision concerning the presidential terms of office. The Russian leader also stressed that he was against adopting a new constitution but understood the logic of the ongoing argument about expanding the parliament’s rights.
"I see that the president’s words are motivated by a striving towards a maximally balanced and stable political system. I think it is a core frame the head of state is looking at the situation through," the expert said.
She noted that it was not the first time when the president was speaking about a possibility of selective amendments to the Russian Constitution. In her words, this matter was quite topical in a period after the expiration of the current office term of the head of state. "The striving to have a maximally balanced and stable political system in the transition period is indeed reasonable and logical," Fedorova stressed, adding however that such a period had not yet begun. "I see no reasons to say that we are doomed to enter a zone of political turbulence," she noted.
Another political analyst, Director of the Center for Political Planning Viktor Poturemsky told TASS that Putin’s statement about the presidential office term was "very important and unexpected." "Obviously, one of the key questions is the problem of transition of power in 2024. I think it is one of the most important statements that were made today," he said, adding that Putin’s words about the inviolability of key constitutional provisions demonstrate his commitment to the current political course.