GROZNY, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - The parliament of Chechnya has asked the upper house of the Russian parliament to amend the country's Constitution to enable President Vladimir Putin to remain in office for a third term, a senior MP said Saturday.

President Putin said in mid-July the Russian Constitution would not be amended to allow him to run for a third consecutive term. Under the Russian Constitution, a president can remain in office for two consecutive terms but is entitled to return to the post for a third time after an interval.

"The People's Assembly has passed a relevant resolution, and all members of the People's Assembly unanimously supported it," speaker Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov said.

He said the idea was to enable Vladimir Putin to run for a third consecutive term in 2008, adding that Russia's incumbent president was necessary not only to the Chechen Republic but also to Russia as a whole.

Chechen MPs also appealed to other Federation constituents to support their proposal.