Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking

BAKU (Reuters) - Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Monday discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin his concern over what he said was the "catastrophic" shrinking of the Caspian Sea, and said that the two had agreed to analyse the situation.

The Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world, lies between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, with Russia to the north and Iran and Turkmenistan to the south.

The Caspian's water levels, which have fluctuated sharply during the last century, have been falling since the mid 1990s, scientific studies have found.

"From the window of the room in which we were negotiating, I showed Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) the rocks that were under water just two years ago," Aliyev said during a statement to the media beside Putin in Baku.

"Today they have already emerged a metre above the surface."

Putin did not make any public statement.

Aliyev said that he and Putin had agreed to analyse the situation that he said was developing into an ecological disaster.

Nazim Mahmudov, the head of the National Hydrometeorological Service from the Azeri ecology ministry, told Reuters the levels had been impacted by increased evaporation associated with climate change, as well as the diversion of the Volga's waters for irrigation.

He said changes in the level of the Caspian Sea affected the environment and economic sectors, notably marine oil and gas operations, and urged global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Baku will host the next United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) climate talks in November.

(Reporting by Naila Baginova; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Barbara Lewis)