During a closely watched appearance on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared a little under-the-weather.
His meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev came after an unusually long, unexplained absence from public view.
Many reporters were present for his planned meeting with Atambayev. An AFP correspondent said Putin looked "somewhat pale," and a reporter for Bloomberg News in Moscow described Putin as "puffy, sniffling, [and] sweating somewhat."
@leonidragozin Putin looks like he has the flu. Puffy, sniffling, sweating somewhat. Nasty dose is doing the rounds at our Moscow bureau..
- Jason Corcoran (@jason_corcoran) March 16, 2015Sweaty, ill-looking #Putin did speak during the presser, but doesn't seem coherentJudge for yourself:http://t.co/3YFdyNuQjt…@RobPulseNews
- David Patrikarakos (@dpatrikarakos) March 16, 2015The Associated Press, however, reports that Putin looked healthy at the meeting.
In press photos, Putin does appear a bit sickly:
AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles, during his meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, March 16, 2015.
AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles, during his meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, March 16, 2015.
The meeting came after Putin canceled several other scheduled events last week, leading to conspiracy theories about where he might be. Putin was last seen in public at a news conference on March 5.
Rumors claimed Putin died, was on paternity leave, had cosmetic surgery, or was seriously ill. Some speculated that a coup was underway. But it's possible that we'll never know the reason behind Putin's unusual absence.
In response to the rumors about his absence, Putin reportedly said that "it'd be boring without gossip."