Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out that he will run for a new presidential term if such a constitutional amendment is adopted, the TASS news agency quoted him as saying in an interview on Sunday. 

"I have not made any decision so far. I'm not ruling out that I will stand for (election) if this emerges in the constitution. We'll see," Putin said. 

Russia will hold a nationwide vote from June 25 to July 1 on proposed changes to the constitution, after the April 22 vote was postponed due to COVID-19 epidemic. 

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Meanwhile, the Russian leader cautioned officials against searching for a successor to him now, saying that they should rather focus on their work, TASS reported. 

"They need to work rather than search for successors," Putin said. 

"You know, I'll say absolutely frankly now: if this does not happen (passing a respective constitutional amendment) then in some two years, I know this from my own experience, instead of a normal rhythmical work at many levels of power they will start searching for potential successors," Putin explained. 

The 67-year-old, who in January unveiled a major shake-up of Russian politics and a constitutional overhaul, is required by the constitution to step down in 2024 when his second sequential and fourth presidential term ends.  

But addressing the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in early May, Putin gave his qualified blessing to a proposed change to the constitution that would formally reset his presidential term tally to zero.

(Cover: Russia's President Vladimir Putin discusses a diesel fuel leak at a thermal power station in Krasnoyarsk Region and its damage control during a video conference call with officials at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, June 19, 2020. /Reuters)

(With input from agencies)