Persistent rumours about the death of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev have not been confirmed.

After almost one-month-long absence from the country, Mr Bakiyev arrived at Bishkek’s international airport Manas on 28 March. Upon arrival the president gave no reasons for his absence.

The president said that he had undergone medical treatment in Germany. Mr Bakiyev, 59, recalled that he had not been taken to hospital in the past 48 years since he was last hospitalised aged 10 after eating rotten fruit.

“I feel very well,” the Kyrgyz president told journalists at the airport. President Bakiyev refuted the rumours about his unexpected death and accused opposition of spreading them in his absence.

However, Mr Bakiyev failed to explain the reasons for not appearing in the media while receiving treatment and, as a result, did not fully uncover the situation around his unexpected leave.