Vladimir Putin not to attend Glasgow climate talks

MOSCOW, October 20

Russia delivered a blow to hopes of a breakthrough international deal on climate change when the Kremlin said on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin would not fly to Scotland for talks starting at the end of this month.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would take part remotely, but the no-show by the leader of the world’s fourth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is the latest setback, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi also uncertain to attend.

Britain, which hosts the COP26 in Glasgow, is seeking support from major powers for a more radical plan to tackle global warming. — Reuters