Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government has expressed confidence that there were high chances for striking a common ground with Turkmenistan on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, an issue disputed by the coastal nations for many years.
"It is possible to eliminate key differences on the status issue," the Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim told a weekly news briefing on Monday.
Ibrahim said the conclusion was enabled by the outcome of the discussions held during the first meeting of the top-level intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation in Ashgabat last week.
Ibrahim reminded that the joint taskforce will meet in Baku in February to discuss related issues, under an agreement reached by the sides.
Although both countries support the division of the sea-bed along the medium line, differences on the location of the divider remain. In particular, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan still have divergent views on the affiliation of the Kapaz (Sardar) oil field, whose estimated reserves amount to some 100 million tons of oil, although tensions subsided somewhat after a change of power in the Central Asian state.
Ibrahim added that the Turkmen embassy in Baku, which was shut down six years ago due to the discrepancies, will resume activity soon.