The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was in good health, dismissing what it called false reports he was unwell.
"Everything is fine with his health," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in reply to a question at his daily briefing.
"You know that Ukrainian information specialists, and American and British ones, have been throwing out various fakes about the state of the president's health in recent months - these are nothing but fakes," he added.
Putin coughed during a public appearance on Wednesday, when Interfax news agency quoted him as saying he had caught a slight cold during a visit to Iran the previous day.
"It was very hot in Tehran yesterday, plus 38 (degrees Celsius), and the air conditioning was very strong there. So I apologize," Putin, 69, was quoted as saying.