New york: Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has raised alarms over the rapidly shrinking Caspian Sea, attributing the primary cause to factors other than climate change. Speaking at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, President Aliyev emphasized the worsening environmental degradation since he initially raised this issue at the Summit of the Caspian Littoral States in 2022.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the President highlighted the urgent need for collaborative efforts among the Caspian littoral states to prevent an ecological catastrophe with potentially unpredictable consequences. He also expressed Azerbaijan's readiness to work closely with the United Nations to address the issue.