Russia offered itself as an observer at the International Fund for the saving the Aral Sea. This was announced by the Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, while delivering a lecture at the Institute of International Relations of the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan. 
 
“Russia is interested in solving the problems of Aral. Members of the UN have repeatedly spoken in favor of this, but the final word belongs to the regional countries. Since not so long ago we lived in a single state – the USSR, where great attention was paid to this problem, Russia proposed to consider the possibility of granting an observer status at the International Fund for saving the Aral. We are grateful to Turkmenistan for the active support of this request. We hope that other participants of the Fund will take the same decision and Russia will be able to participate in the work to save the lake,” Mr. Lavrov said. 
 
For reference, the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea was established on January 4, 1993 in Tashkent during a meeting of the heads of five Central Asian states (Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan). 
 
The main objective of this interstate organization is developing and financing environmental and scientific-practical projects, programs aimed at the environmental rehabilitation of the areas affected by the Aral Disaster, as well as solution of the socio-economic problems in the region.