Moscow, Sep 20 (IANS/ITAR -TASS): Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he may run for re-election in 2018.

He was literally prompted to say this by former French prime minister Francois Fillon at the Valdai International Discussion Club Thursday.

The club is an international conference on Russia and its role in the world and this year's event is being held at Valdai in Russia's Novgorod region.

The Russian president, who had been talking with the Valdai Club participants for some two hours, suggested that the audience put questions to his colleagues too.

Putin then led the way by asking Fillon whether he was going to run for the office of president in France.

Fillon said he would not answer that question because Putin had earlier left a similar question unanswered.

"There was such a question? I didn’t hear it,” Putin remarked.

But then he went on to say: “I do not rule that out.”

Putin’s reply left Fillon no choice but to say that he, too, might run for the presidency in France in 2017.

“Neither do I,” he said.

The next presidential election in France will be held in 2017.