Putin: I May Run Again in 2018

Russia isn't going to be rid of Vladimir Putin anytime soon. Putin hasn't even officially won his third term as president, but in an interview with six foreign newspapers today he was already speculating about whether he'd run again in 2018. "It would be normal, if things are going well, and people want it," he said, according to the New York Times. "But I don't know whether I want to remain for more than 20 years. I have not yet made this decision for myself."

Putin also addressed the situation in Syria, mocking the UN resolution Russia had vetoed as unrealistic. "The demand about Assad’s forces, that they leave the cities, what is that?" he said. "And the next demand—that he put on a wooden overcoat, and music will play in his house, but he won’t hear it because they will bury him? He will never agree with those demands." After the interview, he took the editors to an ice rink, so they could watch him play hockey. (More Vladimir Putin stories.)