Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he is considering standing in the 2012 presidential elections.

He made his statement in a viewer call-in television show. Mr Putin, who served two terms as president between 2000 and 2008, was forced to take a step back because the Russian constitution did not allow him to serve a third. However, he can return as president after a 'period of rest'. Incumbent President Dmitry Medvedev has also said he is considering standing in the upcoming presidential elections.

On the television show, Mr Putin also said he would take severe measures against terrorism after the recent attack on a passenger train in which 26 people were killed. The Russian prime minister took a wide range of viewers' questions, varying from his views on the achievements of the national football team to the alleged bad taste of the country's nouveaux riches. Mr Putin admitted that their display of wealth was a little on the ostentatious side. 

Photo: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the television show (Via BBC Russian)