Russian President Boris Yeltsin said on November 15 that the next presidential elections would be held as scheduled on June 4, 2000.

The polls will take place "exactly on time, as should be under the law passed by the State Duma (lower house of parliament)," Yeltsin said before a meeting at the Kremlin with Alexander Veshnyakov, Chairman of the Central Electoral Committee, the Interfax news agency reported.

Besides the presidential race, Yeltsin and Veshnyakov will also discuss the coming parliamentary elections slated for December 19.

Yeltsin denied as groundless the rumors that he had rifts with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, saying he "supported and will strongly support Vladimir Putin as a presidential candidate," the Interfax reported.

The denial came amid media speculation that Yeltsin has grown cold toward Putin, whom he appointed as his preferred successor in the upcoming presidential race.

The approval rate of Putin, who was little known to the Russian public before being appointed premier on August 9, has been rising steadily in opinion polls since federal forces launched a major offensive against rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya some seven weeks ago.