Muammar Gaddafi told Italian Premier Romano Prodi that he was "well" on Monday after a report that the Libyan leader had suffered a stroke and was in a coma.
Prodi received a phone call from Gaddafi in the late morning, minutes after he began an official visit to the Czech Republic, the Italian premier said at a press conference, adding that he also spoke with Gaddafi on Sunday evening.
Palestinian news agency Maan, which normally only covers affairs in Palestinian territories, reported earlier on Monday that the Libyan strongman had a stroke on Sunday night and was in a coma in a Tripoli hospital.
It also said that Gaddafi's children had been summoned back to Libya from Europe.
"I asked him how he was and he answered that he was fine, adding that rumours about the health of powerful people are common," Prodi reported.
Prodi, who said Gaddafi had called him from a tent in the desert, said the two of them had discussed Mediterranean and international issues of mutual interest.
Italy and Libya have strong ties, partly because the North African country was once an Italian colony. Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema visited Tripoli last month to discuss issues including the possibility of Italy financing the construction of a new motorway in the desert.
The Libyan embassy in Rome denied the report of a stroke while the official Libyan news agency Jana neither confirmed nor denied it.
Col. Gaddafi, who seized power in Libya in a military coup in 1969, is believed to be about 75 years old.
Prodi told reporters that, as he took leave of Gaddafi on the phone on Monday, he had jokingly said rumours of ill health help leaders to "live longer".
