Speaker says Russia's Putin may talk on president vote

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin may on Wednesday make an important announcement about the presidential election, the speaker of the upper house of parliament told reporters.

Russia is awash with speculation about who Putin, the country's most popular politician, will name as his preferred candidate to run in the March 2 presidential election.

"It seems to me that Vladimir Putin feels it possible to say something important about the presidential campaign," Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov said, Interfax news agency reported. "The president could say something important."

Russia kicked off its presidential election campaign on Wednesday.

Mironov, who presents himself as a close ally of Putin, has repeatedly called on the former KGB spy to stay on as president though Putin has said he will respect the constitution.