Viktor Zubkov, nominated for the post of Russian prime minister
by President Vladimir Putin , said on Thursday that he does not
rule out running for the post of president.
"If I do something on the prime minister's post, then this is
not ruled out," Zubkov told journalists in the State Duma, the
lower house of parliament, when asked if he will run for the post
of the head of state.
Putin nominated Zubkov, chief of a committee at the Russian
anti-money laundering service Rosfinmonitoring, as candidate for
prime minister on Wednesday, hours after he dissolved the
government at the request of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
Russia's two acting first deputy prime ministers, Sergei Ivanov
and Dmitry Medvedev, have been widely seen as leading contenders in
the presidential election slated for next March.
(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2007)
