November 26, 1999
Web posted at: 8:11 a.m. EST (1311 GMT)

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin is fighting bronchitis and soothing his hoarse voice with milk and honey, his press secretary said Friday.

Yeltsin, 68, is recovering at his country home in a wooded section of Gorky, west of Moscow, said the secretary, Dmitry Yakushkin.

Another aide said Yeltsin's recovery might take up to two weeks.

"The doctors say from one to two weeks, not taking into account the president's irrepressible character," said Igor Shabdurasulov, the first deputy head of Kremlin administration.

Whenever Yeltsin falls sick, rumors inevitably begin circulating that the Russian leader is seriously ill, and this latest episode was no exception.

Yeltsin's physicians sent him home Thursday afternoon after treating him briefly at the Central Clinical Hospital.

VIDEO CNN's Matthew Chance looks at Yeltsin's illness and concerns over his ability to govern Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Russia's future

This was the 10th time the Kremlin has announced a Yeltsin illness since he was re-elected in 1996. Although some of the illnesses have been severe -- including a heart condition that required quintuple-bypass surgery in late 1996 -- the doctors' decision to send him home suggested the current malady is relatively mild.

However, the illness was serious enough that Yeltsin canceled meetings with foreign leaders, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was to come to Moscow on Friday to sign a controversial union treaty between Russia and Belarus.

Yeltsin doesn't plan to meet foreign visitors until Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma arrives December 6, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Kremlin sources.

The Russian president has frequently had respiratory infections, particularly in the winter. He has also suffered from a bleeding ulcer, double pneumonia and unstable blood pressure. He came down with bronchitis in October 1998 and had to cut short a trip to Kazakstan.

Yeltsin was hospitalized briefly last month with the flu and a fever.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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