Putin may join party

Russian President Vladimir Putin may soon join some political party, presidential aide Vladisalv Surkov said on Wednesday.

8216;8216;Currently, the President is not a member of any political party. That is a legacy of our struggle with Communism,8217;8217; Surkov said adding, allegations that the authorities were supporting the pro-Putin United Russia Party stemmed from the fact that Putin was not a member of any party. 8216;8216;The western countries, where a president supports the party that nominated him, could serve as an example.8217;8217;

Under the Russian constitution, the same person cannot participate in the presidential elections after two consecutive four-year terms. There is a lot of speculation in the media whether Putin will run for the third term, in early 2008.

On US criticism of democratic freedom in Russia, he said as a free nation, Russia wanted to cooperate with other countries according to just rules.