Washington:US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said, it is "too bad" Russian elections will not be contested after Dmitry Medvedev was named as the sole candidate to succeed President Vladimir Putin. "I would hope that the time will come when Russia is going into a presidential election where there is a realistic chance for a really contested election," Rice said in an interview with USA Today newspaper.

"And I think that, to me, is the biggest problem with this," she said, according to a transcript released by the State Department yesterday. "Look, somebody saying, I have confidence in this person, that happens. But I don't think that people view this election as being contested and that s too bad," she said.

Rice, the first US official to criticise the latest political developments in Russia, was not asked about the prospect of Putin remaining in power as prime minister after he steps down in March.

The White House has said little on the matter.

"The Russians are going to have to make a decision," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "There will be an election, and they ll have to take up whether or not this is the direction that they want to take their country."

Medvedev, a soft-spoken technocrat endorsed by Putin to succeed him, said Tuesday that Putin, 55,should switch to the role of prime minister after presidential elections in March.

The stunning statement meant that Russia in the space of 24 hours appeared to have resolved the two biggest questions facing the country: who will win the March 2 presidential election, and what Putin will do on leaving office.

Source : PTI