We have allocated $33 million for Aral Sea restoration programs - Putin

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that Russia has already allocated more than $33 million to programs to restore the Aral Sea in cooperation with Central Asian countries.

At the second Russia-Central Asia summit, the Russian President announced that such programs include monitoring the state of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins, introducing water conservation and reuse technologies, as well as systematic planting of seedlings in the Aral Sea region and on the dried-up borders of the Aral Sea.

Earlier, Putin said that Russia's investments in the economies of Central Asian countries had reached $20 billion, which was "still not enough." He also stressed that Moscow was determined to strengthen ties with countries in the region.