Putin refuses to meet Turkish Prez Erdogan at Paris climate talks

Putin’s snub comes after the Turkish leader called for talks with Putin in person on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the shooting down of the plane on the Syria-Turkish border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Paris climate change conference on Monday, in light of the looming dispute over Ankara’s downing of a Russian warplane.

Moscow and Ankara are at daggers with Russia announcing a raft of economic sanctions against Turkey and the two leaders engaging in a furious war of words. (AP Photo)

“No meeting with Erdogan is planned. There is no discussion of any such meeting,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Putin’s snub comes after the Turkish leader called for talks with Putin in person on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the shooting down of the plane on the Syria-Turkish border.

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Moscow and Ankara are at daggers drawn over the incident last Tuesday, with Russia announcing a raft of economic sanctions against Turkey and the two leaders engaging in a furious war of words.

Ankara on Monday sent back the body of a pilot killed in the downing of the jet to Russia, after it was delivered from Syria to Turkey over the weekend.

Putin is likely to meet US President Barack Obama for informal talks on the margins of the climate conference in Paris, the Kremlin said.

World leaders are gathering in Paris for a historic summit aimed at ending decades of political gridlock and forging an elusive agreement to avert calamitous global warming.

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