President Yeltsin is expected to spend another week at a sanatorium outside Moscow where he is recovering from a viral infection, the Interfax agency has reported. On Thursday, Mr Yeltsin said he would return to work on Friday, but the Kremlin later ruled that out. Despite continuing concern about his health, the 66-year-old President was fit enough to record his regular radio address, which has just been broadcast. Our Moscow correspondent Andrew Harding reports:

Boris Yeltsin sounded fairly robust during his ten minute radio address. In the past the Kremlin has often released video footage of the speech being recorded but not on this occassion.

Mr Yeltsin is still living at a sanatorium just west of Moscow, on Thursday he told journalists that he felt fine and would be returning to work today. But as happens so often these days, the Kremlin later issued a correction, saying Mr Yeltsin would in fact remain at the sanatorium for the time being.

In the past Kremlin officials have tried to deceive the public about Mr Yeltsin's state of health. Last year they said he had a sore throat when he'd really had a heart attack.

Not surprisingly presidential health bulletins, are now treated with a large amount of scepticism. On this occassion, though, the concensus seems to be that Mr Yeltsin has had a viral infection and is genuinely getting better.

The Presidents speech was about Russia's security services. He emphasised their importance in defending the country's economic interests.