Putin trip to Kazakhstan to go ahead on March 20 - Kremlin

N. Nazarbayev, A. Lukashenko, V. Putin A trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan, initially planned for last week, has been rescheduled for March 20, the Kremlin and the Kazakh presidential press service said on Monday.

A Kazakh government source told Reuters last week that the trip, which had been planned for March 13, had been postponed, causing speculation about the leader's health.

Putin has not been seen in public or appeared live on television since March 5 but is due to meet Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in St Petersburg later on Monday. The Kremlin has denied Putin is ill.

Putin is due to meet Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko during the visit to Kazakhstan to discuss economic matters, the Kazakh presidential press service said.

Source: reuters