RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin will not attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Kremlin has said.

The move is a blow to the UK's hopes of getting world leaders to agree to significant measures to deal with the climate crisis.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already been warned that China's President Xi Jinping is unlikely to attend.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "Unfortunately, Putin will not fly to Glasgow."

Andrei Kelin, the Russian ambassador to the UK, previously said a decision had yet to be taken on whether President Putin would attend.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show at the weekend, he said: "As I understand, a decision on his [Putin's] brief has not been taken yet.

"But we will send a large delegation - believe me, it will be a delegation that will consist of more than 200 people. 

"The government will get represented at a high level."

Asked if the Russian team will come to COP26 with "concrete, clear plans" on cutting carbon emissions, Mr Kelin said they took the issue "very seriously". 

He said Russia has committed to net-zero emissions by 2060 - the same date as China.

The UK has committed to net-zero by 2050, while Scotland has set an earlier date of 2045.

COP26, which will take place from October 31 to November 12, is expected to draw around 30,000 people to Glasgow, including world leaders such as US President Joe Biden.