President Vladimir Putin has reappeared in public after ten days of absence that ignited speculations about his whereabouts and his health.

Putin was seen on Monday meeting with Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg.

Commenting on rumours about his health he said "it would be boring without gossip".

Also on Monday, Putin ordered the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet and paratrooper units to go on full alert as part of snap military exercises in the Arctic, RIA news agency quoted the defence minister as saying.