Vladimir Putin reappears after 10 days, longest absence in two years
| St. Petersburg, Russia
Russian President Vladimir聽Putin聽resurfaced Monday, smiling and looking healthy after a 10-day absence from public view that has fueled a wave of rumors.
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atanbayev, who met with聽Putin聽Monday in St. Petersburg's ornate Konstantin Palace, referred to the swirling speculation about聽Putin's聽health at the start of their conversation, saying that the Russian leader is in good shape. Atanbayev said that聽Putin聽drove him around the palace's park before the talks, adding that "the president of Russia not only walks, but speeds around."
"It would be dull without gossip,"聽Putin聽retorted with a smile.
The 62-year-old Russian leader was last seen in public on March 5, when he hosted Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Kremlin insisted that he continued holding official meetings, and released photos and video of聽Putin聽at meetings on national television, but Russian media suggested the images had actually been shot much earlier.
Putin's聽decision to abruptly postpone a trip to Kazakhstan planned for last week fueled speculation that he was unwell or isolated by a palace coup. A Swiss newspaper claimed that聽Putin聽had traveled to Switzerland, where it said聽Putin's聽reported girlfriend 鈥� former Olympic gold-winning gymnast Alina Kabayeva 鈥� had given birth to their baby. The Kremlin has denied all those allegations.
笔耻迟颈苍'蝉听蝉辫辞办别蝉尘补苍 Dmitry Peskov greeted reporters Monday with sarcastic remarks: "So, have you seen the president paralyzed and seized by the generals? He has just come back from Switzerland where he attended the delivery."
Asked if聽Putin's聽condition required treatment by an osteopath, the spokesman retorted: "Yes, the osteopath was with the generals."
The sarcastic remarks appeared to reflect the Kremlin's dismay with rumors and its inability to stop them from spreading.
On a more serious note, Peskov added that the Kremlin has grown tired of refuting speculation about聽Putin's condition. "The more we talk about it, the more intense (the speculation) becomes," he said.
On more serious note,聽Russia聽was ready to bring its nuclear weapons into a state of alert during last year's tensions over the Crimean Peninsula and the overthrow of聽Ukraine's president,聽President Vladimir Putin聽said in remarks aired on Sunday.
Putin also expanded on a previous admission that the well-armed forces in unmarked uniforms who took control of Ukrainian military facilities in聽Crimea聽were Russian soldiers.
Putin's comments, in a documentary being shown on state TV, highlight the extent to which alarm spread in Russia in the weeks following聽Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster in February 2014 after months of street protests that turned increasingly violent.
(Reporting by Jim Heintz)
