Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov has said the key goal facing the littoral states of the Caspian Sea today is to join efforts in ensuring security in the region in a globalized world.
``We are on the path of new cooperation, and at that meeting we developed a common concept for realizing a common goal for a specific project,`` Khalafov told a press conference devoted to the outcomes of a meeting on Caspian security.
Deputy foreign ministers of the coastal nations held discussions on issues of regional security in the resource-rich basin in Baku last Thursday and Friday.
According to Khalafov, Azerbaijan had developed a draft agreement that was submitted to the representatives of the other littoral states for consideration. The document envisions broad cooperation in fighting terror, organized crime, arms sales, trafficking in drugs and humans, and smuggling.
The draft is to be discussed in the Azerbaijani capital during the first quarter of 2010, Khalafov said, voicing hope that it will be approved at the following meetings.
He emphasized that the Caspian states have already established bilateral collaboration, but the new agreement will enable them to join efforts in a multilateral format.
``I believe there are great prospects for this cooperation, which will be able to turn the Caspian Sea into a basin of peace,`` the deputy minister said.
Asked whether or not this project will allow for a reduction in the Caspian states` armaments, Khalafov said ``this is a sovereign right of these states, and we can cooperate in this issue only in terms of ensuring security.``
``Security issues should be addressed strictly by the five Caspian littoral states, but we support international cooperation on the security issue,`` he said.
Khalafov also said only security issues were discussed at the Baku meeting, while the status of the Caspian was not considered.
The deputy minister noted that the sides have not yet fully agreed upon the status convention, though agreement has been reached on certain issues.
``The Caspian states have signed a convention on ecology and environmental protection, and this document has already gone into effect.``
Khalafov added that the Caspian status will be discussed in Ashgabat on November 5-6.
The coastal nations have been divided for many years on the status of the sea, which is a source of huge hydrocarbon reserves and valuable caviar stocks. Azerbaijan has already signed agreements on dividing the Caspian into national sectors with Russia and Kazakhstan. However, Baku faces a dispute with Turkmenistan, with Ashgabat leveling claims to three oil fields in the allegedly disputed section of the Caspian. A long road is also ahead in agreeing on the status issue with another coastal state - Iran, which supports equal division of the seabed between the five coastal nations.

Demilitarization
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said there are standing agreements among the Caspian littoral states on demilitarization and security of the basin.
Mottaki told a news conference with foreign journalists that agreement had also been reached on preventing the sailing of non-littoral states` vessels in the Caspian.
The Iranian minister said the coastal nations had agreed at their meeting in Baku to establish an eco-secretariat to deal with the utilization and protection of the Caspian`s resources. According to him, Iran and Azerbaijan have submitted their bids on hosting the organization.
Mottaki also said general agreement has been reached on the Caspian status. He did not specify when a final decision on the issue will be passed and only expressed hope that the ongoing negotiations ``will conclude with adopting decisions complying with the interests of all littoral states.``