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Presidential Aide Ruslan Edelgeriyev: Mr President,

Water management is an essential component of all climate talks today. Likewise, all issues related to water resources overlap and are closely connected with the issues of climate change mitigation.

These trends have grown significantly stronger with the rapid institutionalisation of this agenda starting in 2023. I would like to briefly explain the situation.

Everything begins with adding these issues to the international agenda under a plausible pretext. At the same time, we see that the “collective West” ultimately uses these issues to replenish other countries’ national budgets. The direct rules introduced as a result damage global trade with lop-sided measures under the pretext of environmental protection. We can see this happen during negotiations, when we analyse all the negotiation tracks in detail and scrutinise all the phrases that conceal elements not immediately evident.

For example, the current preparations for the next event are crammed with wordings that seem, at first glance, to perfectly fit the environmental track. But when you look deeper…

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: …you see where it will lead to.

Ruslan Edelgeriyev: Yes, we see that these measures often lead to restrictions on state sovereignty, especially in the case of developing countries, and, speaking about water resources, especially the countries that have broad access to fisheries stocks and other resources, including underground resources. The current pressing issues have to do with shelf, cross-border regulation of internal waterways and interstate rivers that act as natural borders between states. The process of institutionalisation is ongoing in this sphere as well.

At the same time, we are aware of the dire need for implementing certain elements in Russia, so that we will not have to adjust to the methods and mechanisms created in Western countries, as we had to do with the climate agenda.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, when our interests were not taken into account.

Ruslan Edelgeriyev: Exactly.

For example, OECD ministers met in Madrid to discuss global water justice. However, non-OECD countries were not invited to that event. In other words, the developments that concern water resources must not be left unattended.

I believe that our methods, which we thankfully have, and our mechanisms of interaction should be proposed at the initial stage, at the stage of preparations. We could begin with transboundary rivers and the waterways that are in joint use, such as our large lakes, seas and rivers. The situation in that sphere calls for a thorough audit, so that we can define the parameters of the ecological flow of rivers at the initial stage and subsequently have the opportunity to influence our partners to take appropriate common monitoring measures.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, because we must take our interests into account, take the initiative and offer a dialogue scenario that will suit our partners and also serve our interests, which we must protect at the modern level, primarily with due regard for the requirements of the environmental agenda as a whole, but without forgetting about the interests of our citizens either. The well-being of millions of Russian families depends on compliance with environmental rules. We must keep this in mind.

Water resources management is becoming a major issue for us as well. Thankfully, we have no problems with that, but the issue is becoming acute for our neighbours, the CIS countries. We have a number of competitive advantages in this sphere, and we should use them effectively.

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