Greta Thunberg did not appreciate the "concern" expressed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The people of Azerbaijan are trapped. They can only enter or leave the country via the airport. Even if I could go there, I wouldn’t. I don’t want to legitimize the regime." This was stated by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg in an interview with Blankspot. She arrived in Tbilisi, from where she plans to travel to Armenia. She expressed that she has no expectations from the upcoming COP29 climate summit.

"The only outcome of this will be symbolic decisions that look good on paper. We cannot continue in this way. We cannot pretend that a conference which gives legitimacy to authoritarian regimes that violate basic human rights is acceptable. In countries where people face repression and human rights violations every day, we cannot talk about climate," she said.

Thunberg condemned attempts to use her name for political purposes. Last spring, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement supporting Thunberg after she was detained by Dutch police during protests. Azerbaijan also called for climate activists to be allowed to freely conduct demonstrations.

"It’s absurd that an authoritarian regime uses me as an excuse to justify its own human rights violations, and claims solidarity with me," Thunberg emphasized, also criticizing the fact that climate summits are being held in authoritarian countries.

"I’m also here to stress that we cannot legitimize COP meetings in their current form. For the past three years, they have been held in authoritarian regimes, and holding them in such places leads to noühere," she added.