The Kremlin and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) denied rumors about the deteriorating health of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and there were recently several unconfirmed media reports of Putin's illness.
"Everything is fine with regard to his health," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday in response to a question during his daily briefing. "As you know, Ukrainian, American and British media experts have spread many false news about the president's health in the past months. These are all fake reports. ".
Putin, 69, coughed during a public appearance on Wednesday, and the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying that he had caught a mild cold during a visit to Iran on Tuesday.
"It was very hot in Tehran yesterday... (the temperature) exceeded 38 (degrees Celsius), and the air conditioning was very strong there. So I apologize," the spokesman quoted Putin as saying.
Since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine on February 24, President Putin has maintained a regular media appearance, and chaired all meetings scheduled on his agenda. During the past 30 days, he made two visits outside Russia, one to Turkmenistan and the other to Iran, as well as his visit to Belarus. .
CIA Director William Burns said Wednesday at a security forum in the United States that Putin is in very good health.
Burns' statement
In response to a question about President Putin's health, William Burns, director of the "CIA", said at a security forum in the United States on Wednesday that Putin is "in very good health," denying rumors of his deteriorating health.
The commander of the British military forces, Admiral "Tony Radakin", had said earlier in July that talk of Putin's illness remains just rumours, adding that there are no indications of the Russian president's illness.
And the British newspaper "The Times" had previously reported in mid-May that the Russian president had leukemia, and underwent surgery on his back related to this disease shortly before he issued the order to launch war on Ukraine on February 24 last February.
The Times indicated that speculation about Putin's health has developed after he was seen on several occasions limping, and during another meeting last April with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, he was seen holding a table to lean on.
Putin's health has come under the microscope at the international level in recent months, especially after he was photographed sitting at the end of long tables in his meetings with local and foreign officials as a precaution against the Corona virus, and he appeared at times as he seemed to be walking stiffly.