Aral Sea ecological disaster discussed in Dushanbe

Ecological disasters of such a scale as that of the Aral Sea have no political borders and cannot be considered as an exclusively internal affair of any state or region. This statement was made by President Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan who spoke at a Dushanbe meeting of donors on problems of the Aral Sea basin.

The meeting noted that the natural cataclysm and irresponsible economic activity caused the Aral Sea water area to shrink 50 percent and the depth diminished six times over.

The world community has recognised the ecological crisis in the Aral Sea basin as a major catastrophe of the 20th century with grave consequences for the region whose population exceeds 50 million.

According to participants in the meeting, it is impossible to save the Aral without turning the Siberian rivers -- a relevant project was developed in the Soviet era.

President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan stated at the October forum of heads of state of the Central Asian countries on the Aral Sea problems held in Dushanbe that it would be possible to revise this project "only with Russia's kind consent."