The Kremlin has denied Vladimir Putin is planning to quit as Russian President amid claims he is suffering from ill health and may step down as early as January, writes the Daily Mail.

The 68-year-old Russia president’s future has been the subject of increasing speculation after prominent critic Professor Valery Solovei suggested the leader had Parkinson’s and that his family had urged him to retire in the new year.

But on Friday morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted Putin was in “excellent health” and dismissed the claims as “complete nonsense”. Asked if Putin was planning to step down in the near future as Solovei had suggested, Peskov said “no” adding: “Everything is fine with the President”.