KAZAN, October 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin supported his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon who drew attention to the problem of fresh water availability and melting glaciers.

During an Outreach/BRICS Plus meeting in Kazan, the Russian President responded to the words of the leader of Tajikistan that Central Asia is facing the negative consequences of climate change.

"You drew attention once again to glaciers. Indeed, for countries such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and many other states, this is a very important problem, and it is growing, because glaciers are melting, and this is a source of water supply," Putin told Rahmon.

"In Central Asia, warming is leading to a reduction in the area of glaciers, one of the main sources of water resources in the region. <...> In the context of climate change, drought as one of the global problems also has a negative impact on all countries, including our Central Asian region," Putin added.

In turn, Rahmon invited the participants of the meeting to take part in a high-level conference on glacier conservation, which will be held in Dushanbe in May 2025.

The 16th BRICS Summit, which is the key event of Russia’s chairmanship in the association, is being held in Kazan on October 22-24. On the second day of the summit, its participants adopted the Kazan Declaration. The main topics of the document include the association’s future development, its position on global issues, settlement of regional crises, including in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The BRICS group was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining it in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, became its full-fledged members. The Kazan summit became the first they attended as full-fledged members of the association.