Putin is ‘entirely too healthy’, CIA chief says
Vladimir Putin is “too healthy”, CIA has said, dismissing media speculation that the Russian president is suffering from ill health, The Telegraph reports.
Rumours have circulated for months that the 69-year-old has a cancer diagnosis or Parkinson's Disease after appearing unsteady in numerous public appearances.
William Burns, director of the CIA, said there was no intelligence to suggest the Russian leader was sick.
"There are lots of rumours about President Putin's health and as far as we can tell he's entirely too healthy," Mr Burns told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
The Kremlin also dismissed rumours on Thursday, saying that reports he was ill were "nothing but fakes".
Suspicions about Mr Putin’s health were reignited during his recent trip to Iran when commentators said he appeared to be limping at times with his arm hanging stiffly by his side as he disembarked the plane.
Mr Putin coughed during a public appearance on Wednesday, when Interfax news agency quoted him as saying he had caught a slight cold during a visit to Iran the previous day.