Russian lawmaker suggests scrapping presidential term limits

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to have flown in space and a lawmaker with Russia's ruling party, proposed Tuesday to scrap presidential term limits in order to allow Russia President Vladimir Putin to run for re-election in 2024. The move prompted Putin to rush to the parliament, where he is expected to weigh in on the proposal.

Tereshkova came forward with the idea at a parliamentary session, during the second reading of constitutional amendments Putin introduced to the parliament in January.

The sweeping reform is widely seen as part of an effort by Putin, who has to step down in 2024 after having served the two consecutive terms that the country's constitution currently allows, to stay in power.

“The very existence of an opportunity for the current president (to get re-elected), given his major gravitas, would be a stabilizing factor for our society,” Tereshkova told the Kremlin-controlled State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, on Tuesday.

Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin announced a 90-minute break in the session to ponder the proposal and said Putin will come to the Duma himself to weigh in on the proposal.

“The amendment Tereshkova has come forward with requires consulting with the current president,” Volodin said.

Tereshkova's proposal contradicts what Putin said earlier about the possibility of a remaining president — he rejected the idea of scrapping term limits just last week, saying it's important to guarantee government rotation in Russia in the future.

“Why don't I want to scrap limits? It's not that I fear myself: I'm not going to lose my mind, it's not about me,” Putin said Friday during a meeting with workers and activists in Ivanovo, a city northeast of Moscow famous for its textile industries.

“Stability, calm development of the country may be more important now, but later when the country becomes more confident and gets richer it will definitely be necessary to ensure government rotation."