Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today said that Mr Putin had visited the Moscow hospital where Mr Gorbachev's body is being kept, and had laid flowers at the coffin.
"Regrettably, the president’s working schedule wouldn’t allow him to do that on Saturday, so he decided to do that today," Mr Peskov said.
Mr Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday, will be buried at Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife Raisa, after a farewell ceremony to be held at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions.
The historic mansion near the Kremlin has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.
Asked if Mr Gorbachev would be given a state funeral, Mr Peskov said the funeral would have "elements" of a state funeral, such as honorary guards.
Conflicted attitude
Mr Putin’s decision to pay a private visit to the hospital while staying away from the public farewell ceremony reflects the Kremlin’s divided thinking on the legacy of Mr Gorbachev.
This is further underlined by the uncertainty surrounding the funeral's status.
The late leader has been lauded in the West for ending the Cold War, but is blamed by many at home for the 1991 Soviet collapse and subsequent decade of chaos and poverty that engulfed the nation.
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly blamed Mr Gorbachev for failing to secure written commitments from the West that would rule out Nato’s expansion eastwards.
But this week he praised Mr Gorbachev's "enormous impact on the course of world history".
"He led the country during difficult and dramatic changes, amid large-scale foreign policy, economic and society challenges," Mr Putin said.
