Putin is self-isolating after several members of his inner circle tested positive for COVID-19.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday, however, that the Russian leader has tested negative for the coronavirus and is feeling “absolutely” healthy.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, the Kremlin has made a two-week quarantine mandatory for all face-to-face visitors before meeting the Russian president.
The 68-year-old president will therefore not travel to Tajikistan this week for the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) but will instead take part in SCO meetings via video conference.
Putin had been scheduled to meet with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on the sidelines of the SCO summit which will be held on September 16 and 17.
