Putin to stand in Russia's elections as independent candidate

Moscow Dec 14: Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off an annual press conference Thursday, his first major public appearance since announcing he would seek a new six-year term in March 2018 elections.

The marathon event began with a question from a Moscow radio station on the reasons the president was seeking re-election, after the long-expected confirmation of his candidacy last week.

"To improve quality of life for Russians," said Putin, who has been in power since 1999 and could become the country's longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin if he wins a fourth term.

Putin said he would stand for election as an independent candidate rather than with the backing of his traditional party, United Russia, despite "counting on the support of the political forces that share my point of view about the development of the country".