Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied he has cancer but said he remains under doctors' control after undergoing surgery in November.

Following widespread speculation that the PM may have had cancer, journalist Mehmet Ali Birand of the Hurriyet Daily News said Erdogan broken his silence about his health in an interview that lasted for about 3 hours.

“No, I don’t have cancer,” Erdogan said.

According to the report, there were some polyps detected in his intestines a while ago. If they were not removed, they could have developed into cancer. The operation was not an urgent one; it was decided and planned ahead of time

He also said he did not keep it as a secret that he was going to undergo surgery, but that he simply didn’t announce it. “I went out around 7 or 8 p.m. in a very ordinary way and went to the hospital. If anybody turned his head, he could have seen us,” he said, adding, “Doctors are still taking great care of me and telling me not to exhaust myself.”