UPDATE - Russia's Putin announces he will seek reelection next year

UPDATES WITH MORE INFORMATION; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS KREMLIN SPOKESMAN'S COMMENTS; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday announced that he will seek reelection in March 2024, a move that could win him an unprecedented fifth term in office.

“I won’t hide how at different times I had different thoughts. But now is the time when you need to make a decision. I will run for the post of president of the Russian Federation,” Putin said after a Heroes of the Fatherland Day award ceremony at the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later told state news agency Tass that in recent contacts with foreign leaders, Putin had not brought up his intention to seek another term.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Central Election Commission confirmed that voting in the presidential elections will take place on March 15-17.

On Thursday, Russia's Federation Council passed a resolution scheduling the country’s next presidential election for March 17.

Under constitutional reforms passed in 2020, Putin, 71, is eligible to serve two more six-year terms, meaning he could stay in office until 2036.