Ukraine tells West to boycott COP29 in Baku if Putin shows – POLITICO

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The international community should shun the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan if Russian President Vladimir Putin attends, a top Ukrainian diplomat told POLITICO.

"We need to exert this pressure and our partners need to make it clear to Azerbaijan that, if Putin is there, they aren’t coming," said Ukraine's EU ambassador, Vsevolod Chentsov, in an interview with POLITICO.

Chentsov noted that Baku was increasingly “quite dependent” on the EU, given the bloc's pivot to the oil and gas-rich Azerbaijan to help replace Russian fossil fuels.

"They want to foster cooperation with the EU, and they should be really careful in that regard," the Ukrainian diplomat said, arguing that gave Brussels key leverage over Baku.

Chentsov's call comes after the Kremlin said Tuesday that Putin was considering attending the annual U.N.-backed climate gathering, which begins Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.