Vladimir Putin has suggested the law banning Russian presidents serving more than two consecutive terms could be 'removed' - potentially allowing him to rule for life.

The Russian premier, 67, made the off-hand remark during his yearly national address, where he waxed lyrical on subjects from nukes to Trump's impeachment.

Asked whether he would consider staying on beyond his current term, which ends in 2024, he refused to answer directly and instead recalled how he was forced to step away from the presidency in 2008 because of the current rules.

Vladimir Putin, 67, was asked during his yearly press conference whether he would stay in power beyond his current term which ends in 2024 - and suggested changing the constitution

'Your humble servant completed two terms, then he left the post and had the constitutional right to return to the post of president - because it wasn't two successive terms,' he said.

'Some of our experts and public figures were bothered by that (clause). We could, of course, remove it.

'All of that could be done but only after a solid preparation and a thorough discussion in society.'

Putin was first elected in 2000, but was forced to step aside from the presidency between 2008 and 2012 due to current rules

Putin was first elected in 2000 and served until 2008, when he swapped positions with prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.

He was elected again in 2012 and most recently in 2018, and is currently serving a six-year term, after which he will be banned from running for the presidency again.

Following his remarks, Putin refused to clarify whether he was talking about removing the consecutive terms clause, or the clause limiting presidential terms.

Putin loyalists at Russia Today suggested that he was talking about removing the consecutive terms clause - meaning presidents could only serve for two terms in total - and therefore standing down in 2024.

But others said he was referring to removing term limits altogether, which would allow him to rule for life like other world strongmen such as Xi Jinping, who amended China's constitution in a similar fashion last year.

Thursday's speech marks the first time that Putin has discussed presidential term limits, and the possibility of amending the legislation.

He also wouldn't answer questions about extend his rule by shifting into a new governing position, such as head of a union between Russia and ally Belarus.

A journalist at Putin's annual press conference holds a scarf with his face on it as she prepares to question him over his agenda

Asked about his fellow Russian leaders, Putin had some harsh words for Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin.

He lambasted Lenin's idea to grant broad autonomy to ethnic-based Soviet republics, including their right to secede, saying it paved way for the Soviet breakup once the Communist Party's hold on power started to loosen.

Putin once lamented the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.

At the same time, Putin rejected the push for taking Lenin's embalmed body out of the Red Square tomb and burying it, saying that it would offend older people who still see the Soviet founder as a powerful symbol.

He noted that the Soviet demise spawned expectations of a 'unipolar world' in which the U.S. dictates terms to others, adding that such 'illusions' quickly collapsed.