Reuters: Azerbaijan’s COP29 has been marked more by division than unity

So far the climate conference being held in Baku-which many global leaders decided to skip altogether-has been marked more by division than unity, Reuters writes.

Argentina’s presidential spokesperson said the move would allow Gerardo Werthein, the new foreign affairs minister, to “revaluate the situation, reflect on the position”.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who previously has called global warming a hoax, was due this week to meet Trump, also a climate change denier.

When asked whether Argentina would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Ana Lamas, undersecretary for environment for Argentina, who led the country’s delegation at COP29, told Reuters: “We are only withdrawing from COP29.”

Azerbaijan’s COP29 Presidency described it as a matter between Argentina and the United Nations.

A day earlier, French climate minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher cancelled her trip to COP29 after Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accused France of “crimes” in its overseas territories in the Caribbean.

France and Azerbaijan have long had tense relations because of Paris’ support of Azerbaijan’s rival Armenia. This year, Paris accused Baku of meddling and abetting violent unrest in New Caledonia.

“Regardless of any bilateral disagreements, the COP should be a place where all parties feel at liberty to come and negotiate on climate action,” European Union climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in response, in a post on X.