Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend Mikhail Gorbachev's funeral scheduled for Saturday "because his work schedule on that day does not allow him to do so".
A statement reduced to the essentials by the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov to justify the absence of the Russian leader at the funeral ceremony of the former Soviet president, as reported by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
Putin paid tribute to the former president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, and placed flowers on his coffin before leaving for Kaliningrad.
"The president went to the Kaliningrad region today ... but before leaving, he stopped at the Central Clinical Hospital, greeted Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, laid flowers on the coffin," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Dmitry Peskov then said that some of the elements of a state funeral will be present in the farewell ceremony for Gorbachev.
"There will be elements of a state funeral in the sense that, of course, there will be an honor guard, a farewell will be organized. This is how the state will help in organizing the funeral ceremony," the spokesperson told reporters. .
Gorbachev died on Tuesday at the age of 91 after a long and serious illness.
On Saturday he will be buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow after a public funeral ceremony.