Berlin won't speculate on Putin's lack of recent appearances: spokesman

Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Supreme Court chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow March 13, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin will not speculate about why Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been seen for days, a German government spokesman said on Monday. Asked whether he was concerned about Putin's recent lack of public appearances, Steffen Seibert said: "The German government won't take part in speculation about why President Putin hasn't been seen in public for a few days." (Reporting by Stephen Brown; Writing by Michelle Martin)