AP Interview: Putin foe Khodorkovsky doesn't want presidency

LONDON – Russian oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky says he's not interested in replacing Vladimir Putin as president.

Khodorkovsky told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that he might vote for TV star Ksenia Sobchak in next month's presidential election — or cast a spoiled ballot.

Khodorkovsky is barred from running in the March 18 vote but is believed to harbor ambitions for the next election in 2024.

Asked if he will run in 2024, Khodorkovsky says, "I am against anyone running to replace Putin. I think it's a doomed position."

Speaking from exile in London, he argued for gradual reforms toward parliamentary democracy and says he's ready to finance alternative leadership solutions.

Khodorkovsky spent 10 years in prison on charges seen as punishment for his political ambitions.