{"id":99834,"date":"2015-03-16T16:30:34","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T16:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=99834"},"modified":"2015-03-16T16:30:34","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T16:30:34","slug":"putin-reappears-after-10-day-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/03\/putin-reappears-after-10-day-absence\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin reappears after 10-day absence"},"content":{"rendered":"
Russian President Vladimir Putin has laughed off speculation about his health after making his first appearance in public since 5 March.<\/p>\n
Life “would be boring without gossip”, he told Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev at talks in St Petersburg.<\/p>\n
The 62-year-old appeared relaxed and smiled before the television cameras.<\/p>\n
His disappearance from public view had sparked rumours that he might have fallen ill, died, been removed in a coup, or once again become a father.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Monday, Mr Putin ordered the Russian navy’s Northern Fleet on to a state of full combat readiness in the Arctic.<\/p>\n
It came as more than 45,000 troops, as well as warplanes and submarines, started major military exercises across northern Russia.<\/p>\n
‘Excellent form’<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n A brief video of Mr Putin’s meeting with his Kyrgyz counterpart at the Constantine Palace in Russia’s second city was broadcast by state television without sound.<\/p>\n