MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin is in good health, the Kremlin said on Thursday, dismissing rumors that the leader was suffering from an illness after a foreign trip was canceled.
A Kazakh governmental source said Putin's trip to Astana scheduled for this week was canceled because Putin had fallen ill, stirring speculation on social media that something had happened to the 62-year-old leader.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked by Reuters if the president was in good health, replied "yes".
"He has meetings all the time," Peskov said by telephone. "He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don't know which ones we will make public."
The daily RBK said Putin had not been seen live on television since a March 5 meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Photographs on the Kremlin website showed him at meetings dated March 10 and March 11.
The last time Putin's health was in the spotlight was in 2012. Three sources told Reuters that Putin, who was seen limping in public, was suffering from back pain. The Kremlin denied that Putin had back problems.
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