THREAD 1/5 At a meeting yesterday with the working group on amending the Russian #constitution, #Putin confirmed once again that he will not stay on as president once his current term ends in 2024.
2/5 He rejected a proposal to introduce the planned changes to presidential powers after the next elections, saying they should enter into force as soon as they are approved by the Russian public in a referendum. So the new limitations should be in place this spring.
3/5 So the ban on presidents serving more than two terms in total, rather than more than two in a row, will take effect now & apply to Putin too. The amendments will not be used to reset the constitutional clock & allow Putin to start all over again, as some had speculated.
4/5 The new power construction will be created not after the Putin presidency, but during it. Most likely we will see him transferring some of his current powers to other bodies, whose functions Putin will combine with his job as president.
5/5 On the other hand, adjusting the powers of state organs is a good excuse if Putin should suddenly wish for a new Duma, to go into the elections with a new party—or, more likely, an alliance of power.
