Russia says Putin won't fly to Glasgow, in blow for climate talks

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) via a video conference, at his residence outside Moscow, Russia October 15, 2021. Sputnik/Evgeniy Paulin/Kremlin via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - 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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi also uncertain to attend.