The Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, has failed to attend a cabinet meeting he was due to chair.

Instead, it was chaired by his first deputy, Anatoly Chubais.

Reports from Moscow say Mr Chernomyrdin has been taken to a sanatorium near the Russian capital -- the same sanatorium where President Yeltsin was treated for a viral infection last month.

Later a government spokesman said the Prime Minister was working on documents at home and had not been taken to a sanatorium.

Mr Chernomyrdin, who is loyal lieutenant of President Boris Yeltsin, had just returned to Moscow after visits to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The spokesman said he was feeling OK, was working at his country residence and would return to his government office in central Moscow if necessary.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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