ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the UN General Assembly in New York this September, the Kremlin said on Monday.

In response to a question by Russian state-run news agency TASS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No. The trip and the speech are not planned."

Instead, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead Moscow's delegation of high-level officials at the General Assembly, TASS added.

The General Assembly is set to kick off its 77th session on Sept. 13, bringing together leaders from all 193 member states.