“Unfortunately, Putin will not go to Glasgow either,” declared his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who had revealed a day earlier that the Russian head of state would also not attend the G20 in Italy.

“The issue (of climate change) which is on the agenda in Glasgow is yet one of the biggest priorities of our foreign policy”, confirmed Mr Peskov, adding that Russia would be represented at COP26 without contributing other details. Will be done.

Mr Putin announced in mid-October that Russia, one of the world’s biggest polluters, was aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060.

The daily Kommersant revealed in early October that the Russian government was preparing a new environmental strategy with stronger measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan’s stated goal is for Russia to cut emissions by about 80% by 2050, which includes phasing out coal as a source of electricity in favor of more nuclear power among others.

The British government, which is organizing COP26, reacted by assuring that its leader, Boris Johnson, intended to “strongly encourage leaders to come, given that we are fighting climate change.” are at a very important moment for”.

“Ultimately, it is up to each delegation to decide, but we expect that if their leader cannot be present we will represent at a higher level,” an earlier spokesperson said. The minister said around 120 heads of state or government were expected to be in Glasgow in early November.

London has also been informed by Beijing, according to British media, that President Xi Jinping should not attend COP26, an event held at a time considered by scientists to be crucial to keeping global warming under control.

Environmental issues did not come up until late in official speeches in Russia, one of the world’s main producers of hydrocarbons.

Mr. Putin has long downplayed the role of humans in climate change, but he has recently become more committed to the topic, particularly because of the increase in natural disasters – such as record wildfires – in his country. . .