TURKMENBASHI /Turkmenistan/, October 9. /TASS/. Russia shares the opinion that Caspian Sea shrinking is one of the most acute problems, President Vladimir Putin said at the Caspian Environmental Summit.

"We share the view of the colleagues who spoke earlier that the shrinking of the Caspian Sea is currently one of the most critical challenges. Over the last 20 years, the drying up of the Caspian coastline in the Russian sector alone, according to our estimates, amounted to 20,000 square kilometers," the Russian leader said.

"Russia has to allocate substantial budget funds annually for dredging operations to support navigation," Putin noted. "The continuation of the current trends of sea level decline, which, according to our data, averages minus nine centimeters per year, poses a whole range of disastrous ecological consequences," he stressed.

Such processes are harmful for fisheries, cause coastal soil erosion, and lead to a depletion of bioresources. "This is a major threat to us all," the head of state stressed. "The shallowing adversely impacts the socioeconomic situation in the Caspian region, reduces the investment attractiveness of trans-Caspian logistics corridors, threatens to degrade the population's quality of life, and leads to job losses and other acute crisis phenomena," the Russian leader noted.

Expert research indicates climate change is the primary driver behind the Caspian Sea's depletion, Putin said.

"The rise in average annual temperatures directly affects the intensity of water surface evaporation, precipitation levels, and the inflow of feeding rivers. The shifting wind rose further worsens the situation as the previously dominant air masses from the Atlantic are being replaced by hot dry flows from Central Asia, which also sharply increases water evaporation. The combination of these factors requires from our countries to develop joint steps to preserve the Caspian Sea ecosystem," the Russian leader added.