Ex-US Ambassador does not believe rumors about Vladimir Putin's health problems

In an interview, the diplomat spoke about his impressions of personal meetings with the head of the Russian Federation in 2021. He noted that the Russian leader had no health problems, and for his age he looked great."Every time I saw him, I thought that for a 69-year-old who is about to turn 70, he looks great.

He had clear eyes. Compared to the people who were next to him, he looked great," Sullivan said (quoted by RBC).In 2022, the diplomat failed to see the President of Russia up close.

He attributed the changes in Putin's appearance to the effects of stress, not health problems."Damn, even my appearance has changed because of the stress in Moscow.

I think he is under a lot of stress, which is not surprising. I have no reason to believe that he has serious health problems," the former US ambassador said.According to Sullivan, American intelligence has repeatedly made mistakes with the assessment of the health status of leaders of other countries.

He said that in 2006, the US intelligence services believed that Fidel Castro had three months to live. A similar mistake was made when assessing the state of health of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.