As four political parties proposed First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev for Russia’s presidency, current president Vladimir Putin supported the chairman of gas giant Gazprom for the  presidential vote that will take place in March.

During the meeting with party leaders, including those of United Russia which won by a landslide in the recent parliamentary elections, president Putin said that he "fully and completely" supported Medvedev's candidacy for the March 2 vote.

“As far as Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev's candidacy is concerned, I have known him very closely for more than 17 years. We have worked very closely together all these years, and I completely and utterly support this choice,'' Putin was shown saying on state-run television at the meeting.

United Russia, A Just Russia, A Civil Front and the Agrarian Party, the four pro-Kremlin parties that participated at the above mentioned meeting, will most likely release the name of their candidate for the country’s presidency during their parallel party congresses scheduled next Monday.

With the support of Putin, with no other favorite in sight and with just three months before the presidential elections, Medvedev is most likely the next Russian president.

The 42-years-old is not a member of any of the four partied that took part of the above mentioned meeting. This means that he can be nominated by all four political parties.

Medvedev has been competing in the last period with fellow First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and the fight for airtime and political favor was ended when Putin indicated that his possible successor might be the little-known finance expert Viktor Zubkov, who then was appointed prime minister.

On Monday, Putin ended months of speculation by naming Medvedev his preferred successor. Medvedev is the chairman of OAO Gazprom, the world's largest natural-gas producer, which has become a powerful instrument of Putin's foreign policy.

The candidates for Russia’s presidency must register at the Central Election Commission's until December 26.