Interfax
October 6

The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are determined to raise the issue of the Aral Sea at the highest international level.

They voiced their plans to initiate the establishment of a U.N. commission for the Aral Sea at the forum of the heads of states that are members of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, which ended its work in Dushanbe on Sunday.

The Aral crisis is a global problem, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov told journalists after the forum.

"One million tonnes of salt get into the air as a result of the evaporation of the Aral Sea. This is upsetting the ecological balance not only in the region but in the world as a whole," he said.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that "the salt of the Aral Sea causes ice to melt not only in the Pamir, but also in the European Alps

Commenting on the idea of using Siberian rivers for saving the Aral Sea, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said, "this idea has not been forgotten. We could get back to it if Russia agreed."

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