By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has backed the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as his successor, State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said Monday.
Gryzlov, who heads the ruling United Russia party, said pro-Kremlin parties had put forward Medvedev’s nomination.
“We would like to nominate the candidate that we all support. This is first Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev,” Gryzlov told at a meeting between President Putin and the leaders of United Russia, A Just Russia, the Agrarian Party and Civil Force.
Medvedev is chairman of the board of Russia’s state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom.
Putin, who pledged his “full” support for Medvedev, said the backing of four parties for a single candidate for the March 2 presidential election meant that there was a realistic chance of building a stable government in the country.
Medvedev will be formally nominated as presidential candidate on Dec 17, Gryzlov said.