MOSCOW. Oct 18 (Interfax) - Ways of preserving a tandem rule were discussed by Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev four years ago.
"Four years ago, we [Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev] agreed that this scenario was quite possible if we endure this period of fairly serious tests," Putin said in an interview with three federal TV channels.
"We decided that if we go through the next four years successfully, then we will have the right to put forward our idea of power configuration to society: who will do what, what principles we will stick to and where we will lead our country and our state," the prime minister explained.
"The moment came and we put it forward," he said.
"This is a settled issue for us, but not for our citizens. We proposed this configuration and it's up to the citizens to show at polling stations whether they accept this proposal," Putin explained.