Erdogan skips Glasgow climate summit in security dispute

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled plans to attend the COP26 climate conference after Britain failed to meet Ankara's demands on security arrangements, two Turkish officials said on Monday.

Erdogan returned to Turkey from a G20 summit in Rome instead of travelling to the climate summit in Glasgow, the state-owned Anadolu agency said. The Turkish presidency gave no reason for his unscheduled return.

One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were protocol issues over the president's planned attendance at the meeting. Another Turkish official said British authorities had not met Turkey's requests over protocol and security.

"The president took such a decision because our demands regarding the number of vehicles for security and some other security related demands were not fully met," the senior official told Reuters.