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Russia ready for dialogue on climate change with US, says diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova drew attention to the fact that one of the first decisions made by the Biden administration was to return to the Paris climate agreement
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Vladimir Gerdo/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Russia is ready for dialogue on environmental and climate issues with the new US administration, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a press briefing on Friday.

"Environmental issues are one of the areas where Russia and the United States have common interests. The new US administration is indeed placing socio-economic policy on an environmental footing," she said.

The diplomat drew attention to the fact that one of the first decisions made by the Biden administration was to return to the Paris climate agreement. "Russia has expressed its readiness for dialogue in this area on numerous occasions. We proceed from the premise that the solution of environmental and climate change problems should rule out their politicization," she noted.

Commenting on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, which took place in New Delhi on Tuesday, Zakharova noted that it had not been planned in advance. "It was not planned that two delegations were on the territory of another state, in India, at the same time in the same hotel," she explained.

The White House earlier announced that US President Joe Biden had invited 40 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, to the virtual summit on climate, which is scheduled to be held on April 22-23. Later on, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the invitation had been received, and the details were being specified through diplomatic channels.