Moscow is not dragging out the ratification process of the Paris Agreement, aimed at tackling global climate change, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Lavrov told the Mexican Excelsior newspaper in an interview published on Friday: “first of all, it is necessary to remember, that Russia is not postponing, or protracting the process of the Paris deal ratification.
“We are considering this document as a reliable basis for the long-term settlement of the climate change issue.”
On Monday, Russian Special Presidential Representative on Climate Issues Alexander Bedritsky told Sputnik on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference that Russia had already started to take measures in order to minimise industrial impact on the environment.
The Paris Agreement has been created within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and has been ratified by 170 countries out of the 197 parties to the convention.
The agreement entered into force in November 2016, and is aimed at keeping the increase in average global temperature at below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Russia signed the deal in April 2016, however, Moscow has not yet ratified the agreement.
In June, President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement, making the U.S. the only country to pull out of the accord.(Sputnik/NAN)
