MOSCOW. August 1 (Interfax) - Russia's Central Election Commission has never considered the issue of a third term for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Central Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov said.

"The Central Election Commission has never considered it (the issue of a third term). We proceed exclusively from the law and do not possess either the right of legislative initiative or a desire to correct anything in the legislation. The current legislation does not provide for a third consecutive term," Churov said in an interview with Deutsche Wehle radio, whose transcript was posted on the CEC's website on Wednesday.

The "Constitution does not forbid" the Russian president's affiliation with a political party, he said. "In my view, the head of state, the CEC head and the chairmen of election commissions of constituent territories of the Russian Federation ought not to be affiliated with a (political) party," he said.

"Our law on parties provides that the president of Russia can suspend his affiliation with a political party when in office," he said.

When asked if Putin could run for president in early elections if the president elected in 2008 had to step down for some reason, he said: "He can (run) under the law just as any other citizen more than 35 years of age."

When asked about Russia's possible transition from a presidential- parliamentary rule to a parliamentary-presidential one, Churov said: "The future will show. But today, the presidential-parliamentary rule is formally or informally the most common form of rule not only in Russia, but also in other states, including in Western Europe."

When asked about the possibility of restoring the monarchy in Russia, Churov said: "There is no such possibility in theory, because neither the Constitution, nor the law provides for it."

"I think that the probability of a restoration of the monarchy in Russia is equal to that in Germany," he said.