Azerbaijani President Points Out Catastrophic State of Caspian Sea to Putin

(Patria) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev spoke yesterday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the shrinking of the Caspian Sea, which he described as catastrophic, adding that they agreed to analyze the situation.

The Caspian Sea, the largest in the world, lies between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, surrounded by Russia to the north and Iran and Turkmenistan to the south.

The water level in the Caspian Sea, which has fluctuated significantly over the past hundred years, has been declining since the mid-1990s, scientific studies have shown.

- From the window of the room where we talked, I showed Vladimir Putin the rocks that were underwater just two years ago. Today they are already a meter above the surface - Aliyev said in a statement to journalists standing next to Putin in Baku.

Aliyev added that he and Putin, who did not make a statement to the media, agreed to analyze the situation, which he described as turning into an environmental catastrophe.

Nazim Mahmudov, head of the National Hydrometeorological Institute within Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology, told Reuters that the sea level is affected by increased water evaporation due to climate change and the diversion of water from the Volga River for irrigation.

He stated that changes in the Caspian Sea level affect the environment and economic sectors, primarily oil and gas exploitation, and called for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Baku will host the UN climate conference COP29 in November.