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The Kremlin was forced to deny that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ill after suffering a coughing fit Wednesday during a televised meeting that raised concerns about his health, according to the Daily Mail.
The 68-year-old Russian president struggled to end his sentence while speaking to senior officials about the “serious financial problems” caused by Covid-19. The video was later edited to make Putin’s coughing fit less severe, in a version published by his office.
State news agency TASS questioned the Kremlin about Putin’s health and was told that the president was “absolutely normal”. According to the agency, Putin “apologized for what had happened and continued the meeting almost without pause”.
Putin was speaking on video call to his finance minister, Anton Siluanov, and other senior officials when the coughing fit began, after saying “sorry” and repeatedly bringing his right hand to his mouth as he struggled to continue the speech.
Radio Mayak, which had broadcast an original stream, reported: “Putin’s vocal cords cut off when he ordered his government to fight Covid-19.” Unlike world leaders like Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, Putin is believed not to have contracted the disease yet.
The Russian president has remained in solitary confinement for the past few months after a scare in April when he contacted infected doctors at a Moscow clinic. Putin’s current term ends in 2024, but a constitutional amendment passed earlier this year makes him eligible for two more terms, meaning he can rule until 2036.
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