Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 10 backed a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow him to seek re-election after his current term ends in 2024, ending uncertainty about his future.

Putin gave his support to the amendment put forward by lawmaker Valentina Tereshkova, who as a Soviet cosmonaut in 1963 became the first woman to fly to space. She proposed either scrapping Russian’s two-term limit for presidents or resetting the clock so Putin’s four terms wouldn’t count.

Lawmakers in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma quickly endorsed Tereshkova’s proposal, along with a sweeping set of constitutional changes proposed by Putin.

Putin, 67, has been in power for more than 20 years, becoming Russia’s longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. After serving two presidential terms in 2000-08, he shifted to the Russian prime minister’s office, while protege Dmitry Medvedev served as a placeholder president. Putin reclaimed the presidency in 2012 and won another term in 2018.

A series of constitutional amendments Putin proposed in January were widely seen by Kremlin foes as part of his efforts to stay in power. Observers had speculated that Putin could use the changes to scrap term limits, move into the prime minister’s seat with strengthened powers, or continue calling the shots as the head of the State Council.

In a speech to lawmakers, Putin spoke against scrapping presidential term limits altogether, but backed the idea that if the constitution is revised, the two-term limit only would apply from 2024 on. The president’s current six-year term expires in 2024.

He said he was aware of public calls for him to stay on as president and emphasised that Russia needs stability above all.

“The president is a guarantor of security of our state, its internal stability and evolutionary development. We have had enough revolutions. However, he said that since the constitution is a long-term document, scrapping the term limit wasn’t a good idea,” Putin said.

He said US President Franklin D. Roosevelt serving four terms because of the upheaval his country was going through at the time was an example of why presidential term limits were sometimes superfluous.

“In conditions when a country is experiencing such shocks and difficulties, of course stability is perhaps more important and must be a priority,” he said, adding that Russia was still recovering from the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

If, as Putin’s critics suspect, the constitutional court gives its blessing to the amendment and it is backed in a nationwide vote in April, Putin could serve another two back-to-back six-year terms.

Were he to do that, and his health and electoral fortunes allowed, he could stay in office until 2036 at which point he would be 83. He added that he positively viewed Tereshkova’s alternative proposal to restart the term count when the revamped constitution enters force.

Putin’s statement came as lawmakers were considering the amendments in a crucial second reading when changes in the document are made. The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, quickly endorsed the proposed amendments by a 382-0 vote with 44 abstentions. A vote on a third reading will be a quick formality. A nationwide vote on the proposed amendments is set for April 22.

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