The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has not ruled out standing for Presidential elections in 2012. Mr. Putin said at the next election, he and the current President Dmitry Medvedev would decide what would be the best for Russia. Speaking to 50 foreign journalists and academics at his holiday resort in Sochi on the Black Sea on Monday, Mr Putin gave a hint that he might return by citing the example of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mr Roosevelt, the Russian prime minister noted, served four consecutive presidential terms – though that was then permitted by the US constitution. Russia’s constitution limits presidents to two terms, so Mr Putin was forced to step down in 2008, backing Dmitry Medvedev as his successor. But there would be no bar on Mr Putin returning to the top job in 2012.