Vladimir Putin's spokesman has said that the Russian president is in good health, seeking to quash rumors of an illness.
Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that "everything is okay" with Putin's health, Russian news agencies Interfax and TASS reported.
"They will wait in vain. May their tongues wither," Peskov said of those who claim Putin is ill.
Peskov spoke after a spate of Russian media reports referring to an October 24 column in the tabloid "New York Post" whose author, Richard Johnson, quoted unidentified sources as saying Putin had pancreatic cancer.
Putin and the Kremlin have strongly discouraged reporting about the 62-year-old president's private life.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax