JAKARTA - The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is safe and sound, dismissing what it said were false reports about the country's leader's illness.
"Everything is fine with his health," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a press statement.
"You know that Ukrainian information specialists, as well as American and British, have created various fake news about the state of the president's health in recent months, it is nothing but fake," Peskov stressed.
President Putin coughed during a public appearance on Wednesday, when the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying he caught a mild cold during a visit to Iran the previous day.
"Yesterday in Tehran it was very hot, plus 38 (degrees Celsius), and the air conditioning there was very strong. So I apologize," President Putin was quoted as saying.
International scrutiny of his health has increased over the past few months, including when he was photographed meeting foreign and Russian officials while sitting at opposite ends of a long table as a precaution against COVID-19. At times he also seemed to walk stiffly.
Since launching Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, President Putin has made frequent public appearances, maintaining a full schedule of meetings and phone calls, including two trips abroad in the past month.
As previously reported, the Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who was an ambassador in Moscow, has long observed and interacted with President Putin, saying the leader's condition is very healthy.
Speculation is circulating and increasing in the media and unconfirmed, President Putin who will turn 70 this year, may suffer from poor health, possibly cancer.
However, William Burns said there was no evidence to suggest this, joking that he appeared 'very healthy'. His comments came as the US announced it would provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons.
"There are a lot of rumors about President Putin's health and as far as we know he is very healthy," Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
However, Burns added that this was not a formal intelligence assessment. Burns is known to have served as the US Ambassador to Moscow. He said he had followed and interacted with President Putin for more than two decades.
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