Putin seen gripping chair in new clip as he meets Cuba’s president amid claims he's struggling with his health

23 November 2022, 11:29 | Updated: 23 November 2022, 12:06

Vladimir Putin meets Cuban President in Russia

Fresh speculation over Vladimir Putin’s health arose today after a video emerged of him tightly gripping a chair during a meeting with the president of Cuba.

He met with Miguel Diaz-Canal on Tuesday. In footage from the meeting, Putin can be seen sitting while holding onto the arm of his chair with his left hand.

It is the latest in a number of carefully stage-managed meetings that have so far failed to shoot down rumours surrounding the health of the Russian president.

In the clip Putin can be seen tapping his feet and shuffling them on the carpet.

He was also pictured in another meeting with Dmitry Mazepin, a Russian manufacturing magnate. Putin was seen gripping the edge of his desk tightly, this time with his right hand.

Aformer Kremlin analyst claimed recently that he is suffering ‘very serious cancer’ and is being kept from the public eye.

Professor Valery Solovei, a former Ukrainian SSR-born political scientist, historian, and former head of the Public Relations Department at the Moscow State said: "He has several diagnoses. It is a very difficult oncology. He is on targeted therapy, but it cannot last indefinitely. He has Parkinson's disease, which affects some behavioural features.

"He also has mental problems, but not in the everyday sense, but in strictly medical. They are aggravated by the influence of drugs.”

Last month it was claimed Putin was suffering “coughing fits, constant nausea, and a loss of appetite.”

His relatives were said to be worried about his “thinness and persistent cough,” Telegram channel General SVR said.

The channel has long published information about Putin's health, claiming it has sources in the Kremlin. Its claims cannot be verified, with Putin keeping a tight grasp on any information about his wellbeing as Moscow denies he has issues.

"Both Putin himself and his relatives, as well as doctors, are worried about the president's coughing fits, as well as constant nausea and lack of appetite due to medication and a specific diet [for] oncology," the channel said.

"In the past few months, Putin has lost eight kilograms, and those around the president are worried that the thinness and persistent cough that is noticeable in progress will be regarded by the elites as a sign of the leader's rapidly deteriorating health."