Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has yet to decide whether to run again when his current term ends in 2024– an option that was opened for him after the Kremlin pushed through controversial constitutional amendments last year.

Putin, 69, has been president or prime minister since 1999 and critics say the constitutional amendments, which paved the way for him to stay in the presidency until 2036, are an effort to keep in power for life.

Answering a journalist’s question at an investment forum in Moscow on November 30, Putin reiterated his earlier claim that the amendments “stabilize the situation in the country.”