Medvedev Rules Out Putin Contest

The BBC reports:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said he finds it "hard to imagine" that he and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would run against each other at next year's presidential election.

Competition between them could, he said, "be harmful".

But, speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Medvedev declined to confirm whether he would stand for a second term.

He said reports that there was a growing rivalry between the two men were "absolutely inappropriate".

The president's statements were full of mixed messages, says the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

When asked in the interview if he intended to seek a second term in the Kremlin, the Russian president said "any leader who holds the post of president simply must want to run".

But - he added - "it was another issue" whether he would "take this decision or not".