Putin : first echelon politicians destined to be lonely

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that first echelon politicians must keep distance with everyone and must not have favorite persons. “There is such meaning, which I partly share myself, such as the loneliness of first echelon politicians,” the prime minister said in an interview with three Russian national TV channels on Monday. “First echelon politicians must keep distance with everyone, must have no favorite persons and they must make final decisions not on the basis of personal sympathies or antipathies, but on the basis of professional and unbiased analysis and readiness to assume responsibility for these decisions,” he said. Putin, who was constitutionally barred from standing for a third consecutive presidential term in 2008, will represent United Russia in next year’s presidential elections. The prime minister said that the agreement with President Dmitry Medvedev on the possible reshuffle of power was made four years ago. Putin's interview comes seven weeks before parliamentary elections scheduled for December 4.