Moscow ? For months, Moscow has been buzzing about loopholes that could allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to skirt his country’s constitution and run for a third term in 2008. This week, Kremlin-allied lawmakers tried to create one.

The pro-Putin United Russia party that dominates Russia’s lower chamber of parliament introduced legislation that would effectively allow Putin to resign before his term was up, then run for office again if the 2008 presidential election results were invalidated for some reason.

In Russia, a presidential election can be nullified if voter turnout falls below 50 percent.

Political analysts in Moscow said they were skeptical that the measure would ever become law and doubted Putin would utilize it even if it were passed. Nevertheless, parliament has long been a rubber stamp for the Kremlin, and Kremlin opponents feared the legislation would give Putin a way to circumvent the Russian constitution’s prohibition on a third successive presidential term.

Though the Kremlin’s majority within parliament is large enough to change Russia’s constitution to allow for a third presidential term, Putin has stressed he would not support any constitutional changes. Many observers believe he will handpick a successor who will carry on his policies and ensure that the current Kremlin team retains power.

That strategy, however, could leave the Kremlin with a candidate whose popularity falls far short of the broad appeal Putin enjoys across Russia. Moreover, in recent months even Putin’s popularity has slipped, particularly after thousands of Russians protested his move to replace some senior citizen and veterans’ benefits with cash stipends.

During a visit to Hanover, Germany, in April, Putin appeared to leave the door open for a presidential run in 2012, saying a third presidential term that is not consecutive is allowed under the Russian constitution.

Kremlin officials could not be reached for comment Friday. United Russia lawmaker Alexander Moskalets, who introduced the legislation, refused to discuss the bill and would not furnish a copy. Other United Russia leaders also declined to comment.

Igor Bunin, director of the Center for Political Technologies, told the Russian newspaper Vedomosti that even if the measure became law, authorities would have to devise some reason for scuttling the 2008 election before Putin could seek another term: “What are they going to do to ensure that the elections are declared invalid? Shoot the candidates?”