"We are ready for a dialogue with all normal people from the democratic opposition," said Nemtsov who was elected candidate from the Union of Right Forces (SPS) Friday. The final decision on Nemtsov will be adopted at a party congress December 17.
Russia's right-wing factions, which experienced a disastrous failure in the previous parliamentary elections in 2003 mostly due to their refusal to unite, have been in talks on their unification since then but without much progress.
Nemtsov called on the democratic forces, as they refer to themselves, to abandon personal ambitions and concentrate on the result. He also said it was the first time that the SPS had nominated its own candidate in the presidential campaign.
Mikhail Kasyanov, a former premier and the head of People's Democratic Union, another right-wing movement, said Friday he was ready to negotiate with the SPS on a single presidential candidate.
"We welcome Nemtsov's candidacy from the SPS," he said. "The uncertainty is gone, and now we can sit down at the negotiating table with the SPS, Yabloko, the People's Democratic Union and, possibly other organizations, and agree on joint efforts during the presidential campaign."
Kasyanov previously spoke about his own presidential ambitions.
Other possible presidential candidates include Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, liberal Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky, ultra-nationalist LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, British-based dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, former chief of the Central Bank Viktor Gerashchenko, leader of the United Civil Front Garry Kasparov, and ultra-right parliamentarian Nikolai Kuryanovich.
