BAKU, November 12. /TASS/. Efforts by countries to combat climate change are ineffective, as it is evident that the environmental situation is only worsening, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"There has been much discussion about the actions everyone has taken to improve our climate. However, the situation has only worsened since the previous conference," the Belarusian leader stated at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) in Baku. "The war in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in South Yemen — there are now more than 50 conflicts around the world, and they are having a devastating impact on the climate."

A number of countries, which were once so concerned about climate change, did not attend the conference and "are effectively sabotaging it," Lukashenko said. "What will happen after the US presidential election?" he asked. "The question arises: is our activity at such summits ever effective? <...> There is nothing substantial to report so far," the president remarked.

"I would like to congratulate my colleague on the excellent organization of this complex summit," Lukashenko added. "To those who think they will be unaffected by skipping the summit, [I say] — they will not be. The storm in the United States, the recent events in Valencia [Spain], where people lost their lives — all of this demonstrates how we are actually improving our climate," Lukashenko said.

Belarus has nothing to reproach itself for in this regard — and that is why the speech is so candid, Lukashenko emphasized. "We are fully meeting all the commitments we have undertaken," he concluded.