President for et av kamrene i den russiske nasjonalforsamlingen foreslår en grunnlovsendring så Putin kan velges til en tredje periode.

Sergei Mironov, a prominent Kremlin acolyte and the speaker of the Moscow parliament’s second chamber, proposed a constitutional amendment to allow the premier to serve a third term.

He told legislators that it was time to scrap legal provisions limiting Russian presidents to two consecutive four-year terms.

«I suggest we consider whether it is not necessary, considering the millions of appeals from our citizens, to revive this norm,» he told a session of the Federation Council.

Although there have been similar calls from regional legislatures and individual politicians — Mr Mironov included — it was the first time that the controversial proposal has been discussed in a formal parliamentary session.

Parliament debates allowing Putin third term

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow