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No sick leave: Putin on duty despite being under the weather — Kremlin

"His working schedule is still there, but his cold has been taken into account," the Kremlin spokesman said

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has caught a cold but nevertheless continues to work, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"The president has caught a cold, but it is nothing serious, everything’s fine," he said, adding that "he continues to work."

"His working schedule is still there, but his cold has been taken into account. You have heard how it has changed the president’s voice," Peskov noted. "It’s winter, you see," he added.

The Kremlin spokesman also said that some media outlets had set to make speculations about the president’s health.

Peskov pointed out that on Tuesday, Putin was scheduled to participate in a meeting on microelectronics but it had to be postponed because "documents have not been prepared to be presented to the head of state." Besides, on Tuesday, Putin is planned to attend several events and meet with head of the Alrosa group of diamond mining companies Sergei Ivanov. "The company had to deal with a technological accident so the president decided to have Sergei Ivanov present a report on that and discuss the yearly results with him," Peskov said.

He added that on Wednesday, the Russian president would not visit the VDNKh exhibition center to attend the Mentor forum. "Nevertheless, he will meet with the forum’s participants when they come to him," the Kremlin spokesman said. Besides, in Peskov’s words, Putin will hold several other meetings and an international telephone call on Wednesday.

This is not the first time Putin is having a cold, as reported by the media. In 2013, he himself said that he had come down with a cold in August, while on a trip of Russian regions, as a result of the excessive use or air conditioners.