Speaking after an annual televised question-and-answer session, Putin said: "I have not said that I will give a name. In any case, I am not ready to do so now. But I am certainly reserving the right, like any Russian citizen, to choose [a successor] during the vote. And I do not think I must restrict my right to speak [on the matter] in the media."
"The time will come, and I will speak about it," Putin said.
Putin's supporters have proposed amending the Constitution to allow the immensely popular president, whose mandate expires in 2008, to run for a third consecutive term. Some regional legislatures have approached the State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, with such proposals.
During today's broadcast, the fifth since he took office in 2000, Putin reiterated that he has no plans to run for president, but he said he hopes to preserve the trust of the Russian people and to influence the country's life after leaving his post, without elaborating further.
"I have already said that the Constitution gives me no right to run for a third term, although I like my job," he said.
