Russian FM Denies Speculation That Putin Is Ill

On Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attempted to put an end to rumours concerning Russian President Vladimir Putin's health, claiming that "sane" people can see he is in good health.

Lavrov denied allegations that the 69-year-old Russian leader is ill in an interview with French television news stations TF1 and LCI, claiming he is in good health.

"President Putin is seen in public on a daily basis," Lavrov remarked.

"You are welcome to watch him on TV, read his speeches, and listen to his speeches." "I don't think reasonable people can determine this person has any sickness signs," he said.

His remarks came after former British MI5 agent Christopher Steele, the author of the well known dossier on former President Trump, told Sky News that "Putin is, in fact, extremely seriously ill," according to sources in Russia and elsewhere.

Last week, Steele added, "It's not apparent exactly what this condition is - whether it's incurable, terminal, or whatever." "But I believe it is a component of the equation."

An oligarch who is a Putin loyalist revealed in an audio recording obtained by the magazine earlier this month that the Russian president is "extremely ill with blood cancer," according to New Lines magazine.

According to the article, a March 13 confidential document sent to Russia's domestic security agency FSB warned regional agency directors not to "believe reports about the president's fatal health," citing Christo Grozev, the head of investigations at research website Bellingcat.

U.S. intelligence has not confirmed the reports.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February this year, the White House and other observers have raised concerns about Putin's worldview.

In March, Putin's supporter, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, declared in an interview that Putin is "in better form than before" and that he is "totally sane."