Former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema recently told friends after a meeting in Beijing that Vladimir Putin looked "very exhausted" and had to be held by two people. Although official footage did not give that impression, D'Alema insisted that the close encounter had surprised him, Corriere della Sera reports.
Putin's health has been the subject of speculation for years, from tumors and Parkinson's disease to Cushing's syndrome, all of which the Kremlin has consistently denied. At the same time, Russian security officials are known to collect biological traces of him during his travels to prevent the disclosure of genetic data and possible treatments.
Neither the US nor the British intelligence services currently have evidence that Putin is suffering from any serious illness, but they admit that they are closely monitoring any indications.
D'Alema refrained from making diagnoses, but stressed that Putin reminded him of Silvio Berlusconi in the last period of his life.
Even the conversation between Putin and Xi Jinping in Beijing raised the issue of old age and longevity, with the Chinese leader saying that today someone can still be 'young' in their seventies, Putin highlighted biotechnology and the idea of 'immortality'.