Moscow Uses Business Contacts, Old Allies to Counter Image of Russian Isolation at Baku Climate Talks

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Nov. 20 – Moscow used a side event at COP29 to which it attracted both officials from within the Russian Federation and business contacts and old allies from abroad to counter the widespread image that when it comes to climate change as with so many other issues Russia is isolated.
    Among those Moscow attracted to this meeting, Atle Staalesen of The Barents Observer said were former Chechen prime minister Ruslan Edelgeriev, the daughters of Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, several Western businessman who’ve become wealthy in trade with Russia, and Erik Solheim a former Norwegian official (thebarentsobserver.com/news/climate-talks-the-russian-way/420948).
    Organized by Ecumene, a Russian organization that focuses on climate change from Moscow’s perspective, the meeting did not so much address climate change as the need, in the view of its participants, to include Russia in all discussions about that subject. It was thus, as the Barents journalist said, an example of “Climate Talks. The Russian War.”