Putin says he won't be president for life

MOSCOW, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday in an interview with the state-run TASS news agency that he has no interest in being president "forever."

Putin, who first ascended to the post in 2000, said that an indefinite presidency would be bad for the country.

"This is not good and detrimental for the country and I do not need it as well," he said.

"I know that I have sincerely served and keep serving, and I do everything possible to realize myself in this. But I repeat that clutching at something is counterproductive, detrimental and in no way interesting," he added.

Putin, now 62, concluded his first presidential term in 2008. He served as Russia's prime minister from 2008 to 2012, when he was once again elected president -- amid allegations of electoral fraud.

Despite his reservations about an indefinite presidency, Putin said it was too early to decide whether he would run for another six-year term in 2018.

"I will proceed from the general context, domestic understanding and my personal feelings," he said. "But I don't know for the moment if it will be realized."