Moscow, January 4th – The website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an interview with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Versinin to the Russian News Agency today on the 4th. Verchnin mentioned that Russia is open to dialogue with the United States on climate issues.
Werschinen said that whether the United States will return to the Paris Agreement is a matter of its sovereignty. Russia treats the adverse effects of climate change responsibly and will not constantly change its policies to cater to the situation like the United States.
For the international community, it is important to focus on achieving the already set climate goals, rather than trying to propose new, sound good but often difficult goals to achieve.
Verchnine said that Russia is open to dialogue with all countries, including the United States, on climate issues. Russia calls for the exclusion of climate issues from political differences.
Unfortunately, the United States often politicizes some technical issues in climate negotiations, bringing unnecessary confrontation. It is hoped that this destructive behavior will change in a more constructive and pragmatic direction in the future.
Werhinen said that Russia has greatly reduced carbon emissions and made a great contribution to reducing negative climate changes. Russia still has more work to do in this regard.
Of course, Russia will also take into account Russia’s specificity in terms of climate, natural factors, economic structure and other aspects and the needs for further development.
The Paris Agreement is a global climate agreement signed by more than 190 countries in December 2015. In 2017, the United States announced its withdrawal from the agreement. U.S. President-elect Biden said that one of the main goals of his presidency will be to return the United States to the climate agreement.
On December 12, 2020, many countries held a climate ambition summit by video to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement and further mobilize the international community to strengthen climate action and advance the multilateral process. On December 17, 2020, Biden announced a key member of the new government’s climate change team.
