MOSCOW, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday ruled out running for a third term as the top leader of the country which he has ruled since 2000.

    During a nationally televised live call-in show, Putin said he does not favor "drastic changes to laws, above all to the constitution," which bars him from running for a third term in 2008..

    "My task, as I see it, is not to sit in the Kremlin forever, but to create the conditions for the country's long-term development," Putin said during a phone-in.

    The remark was the latest of Putin's promises that he would not seek a third term as president.

    On Sept. 18, in an interview with US television network Fox News, Putin said: "Under no circumstances am I prepared to change the constitution." Enditem