Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev will officially represent Russia at Friday's state funeral of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

"The decision was taken today that Mikhail Gorbachev would attend the funeral in the capacity of a special envoy of the Russian President (Vladimir Putin)," a Kremlin spokesman said.

Putin himself is attending the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries on Sea Island, Georgia.

The unusual decision to allow Gorbachev to represent Russia at the Reagan funeral in Washington was made after the Kremlin earlier said Russia would be represented by its ambassador, Yuri Ushakov.

Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, struck up a close relationship with Reagan in the course of many meetings in the twilight years of the Cold War between the two superpower rivals.

Source: Agencies