Putin's candidate Medvedev says 'No' to TV debates

President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, has refused to meet his rivals for the presidency in live television debates ahead of the March 2 election.

His opponents denounced his decision as unfair and said it would make it even harder for opposition candidates to gain airtime to get across their views. "Dmitry Medvedev has informed the Central Election Commission about his decision not to take part in joint events," a member of his campaign staff said.

The 42-year-old lawyer, buoyed by strong supplort from the popular Putin, is already way ahead of all rivals in opinion polls and gets blanket coverage on state-run media.

Official campaign rules envisage live TV debates among candidates. Moscow, Tuesday, Reuters