As international scrutiny of Russian President Vladimir Putin has intensified in recent months, the head of America’s foreign intelligence agency gave his candid assessment Wednesday at the annual security forum. Asked whether Putin was unhealthy or unstable, CIA director Bill Burns said the Russian leader was “far too healthy” but added that his remarks did not represent “a formal intelligence judgment.” There are a lot of rumors about President Putin’s health, and as far as we can tell, he’s far too healthy.”
Putin’s slight misstep after landing in Tehran set off an intense round of speculation about his health. His coughing during a public appearance on Wednesday added to the rumours. Interfax quoted Putin as saying he had caught a slight cold during a visit to Iran the previous day.”Yesterday it was very hot in Tehran, plus 38 (degrees Celsius), and the air conditioning was very strong there. So I’m sorry,” she quoted the 69-year-old Putin as saying.
The Kremlin has dismissed speculative media reports that the Russian president is in good health.”Everything is fine with his health,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked at his daily briefing. You know that Ukrainian information specialists, American and British, have been throwing out various fakes about the president’s health in recent months – they are nothing but fakes,” he added.Putin’s physical well-being has long been subject to speculation, largely because of the amount of power vested in one leader. With no clear successor, according to a report, Russia is “always just a sneeze away from a full-blown political crisis.”
Sitting at opposite ends of long tables as a precaution against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) during meetings with foreign and Russian officials, Putin appeared to walk stiffly at times, prompting such speculation in the past. The head of Britain’s armed forces has dismissed speculation that Putin is suffering from ill health as “wishful thinking”.”I think some of the comments that he’s not well or that he’s actually going to be killed or taken away are wishful thinking,” Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said in an interview with television broadcast on Sunday.
