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Putin Won’t Go to Glasgow for COP26 Climate Summit, Kremlin Says

Putin Won’t Go to Glasgow for COP26 Climate Summit, Kremlin Says

President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit next month and the format of Russian participation in the meeting is still under discussion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

“The Russian side will be there but we’re currently in contact with the organizers and so we will say how it will happen later,” Peskov told reporters. “We need to understand what format it will be possible to speak by videoconference. There are a lot of factors to discuss with the organizers.”

Russia’s announcement comes amid signs that hopes for major progress on an agreement to further reduce emissions at the meeting are fading.

“The issues that will be discussed in Glasgow are among the most important priorities of our foreign policy,” Peskov said.

Tuesday, the Kremlin said Putin will not be traveling to Rome for the Group of 20 summit on Oct. 30-31 but will participate by video conference.

Peskov said that even though Putin won’t be there, the Kremlin still considers the possibility of talks, either in person or another format, with U.S. President Joe Biden “a quite realistic possibility” before the end of the year. He declined to provide more details.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.