Responding to a question from a BBC reporter on whether or not he will return to the presidency in the next 12 months, Putin laughed and said:

‘It’s always the foreign media that are interested in this question.  I have a very effective relationship with President Medvedev; I like the way we work together today.  The next elections will be in 2012; let’s wait and see.‘

Click here for a video of Putin’s response.