Putin should become PM -- Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's first deputy prime minister, said on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin should become a new prime minister after he steps down as president in March 2008. He noted that in order to preserve the succession of the current course, it is not enough to elect a new president which backs the current Russia's policy.

"It is no less important to maintain the efficiency of the team formed by the current president," Medvedev stressed. Vladimir Putin on Monday named Dmitry Medvedev as his favourite for the presidency.