Russia has hit out at the “profoundly immoral and blasphemous” snub after Vladimir Putin was not invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Heads of states from across the world will travel to London to attend the former monarch’s funeral on Monday.
Invitations were sent out to leaders of most countries, including the US, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand and France.
But heads of state from Russia, Syria, Afghanistan, Belarus, Venezuela and Myanmar have not received an invite.
Vladimir Putin
Reuters
The heads of state from Russia have not received an invite for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
Reuters
And Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has reacted angrily to the snub, accusing Britain of using the former monarch's death “for geopolitical purposes to settle scores with our country”.
Maria Zakharova said: "We see this British attempt to use the national tragedy, which has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world, for geopolitical purposes to settle scores with our country as deeply immoral.
"This is particularly blasphemous towards Elizabeth II's memory."
She added: "The unifying image of Queen Elizabeth II, who has not interfered with politics as a matter of principle during her reign, has not become an obstacle to London's dissenting attacks, which are subject to accomplishing their own conjectural objectives.
"For our part, we express our profound condolences to the British people for the great loss that befell them."
While Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not expected to travel to the UK for the funeral, with his wife Olena Zelenska set to attend instead.
A report in the Sun, citing a source, said: “Olena Zelenska’s presence is yet another sign of the global support for Ukraine while Russia is isolated.”