Vladimir Putin will not attend Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral

Russian president Vladimir Putin, right, and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Carsten Rehder/dpa via AP)

Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the Kremlin said, but has paid tribute to him.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin visited a Moscow hospital where Mr Gorbachev’s body was being kept before Saturday’s funeral to lay flowers at his coffin.