Azernews.Az

BAKU – Littoral states of the Caspian Sea drew closer to an agreement on the legal status of the resource-rich basin at the end of their talks in Baku on Wednesday, but a slew of issues remain to be ironed out to end over a decade-long differences.

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said the coastal nations - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia and Iran – agreed upon numerous clauses of the draft convention on the Caspian’s status at the two-day meeting of the joint taskforce, but "there are still a lot of points that remain to be agreed". The differences cover the use of the sea’s surface, division of the basin into national sectors, shipping and military activity in the Caspian, he told a news conference.

The agreed clauses of the convention were reflected in a statement adopted by the participating countries in conclusion of their discussions in the Azerbaijani capital.

Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement in 2001 on dividing the Caspian’s northern area into national sectors, with Azerbaijan and Russia each possessing 19 percent, while the Central Asian state received 29 percent. However, the other two coastal nations, Iran and Turkmenistan, did not sign the agreement. Iran wants all resources shared equally among five states, even though its coast accounts for less than 14 percent.

Murat Atajanov, the Turkmen negotiator, said "major progress" was achieved at the taskforce meeting.

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Sarybay in turn said the parties "have drawn very close" to reaching an agreement.

Mohamed Mehdi Akhundzadeh, Iran’s special envoy for Caspian Sea affairs, said the sides "are putting forward political will" to agree upon the unresolved issues. He added that they had decided to intensify discussions.

Russian Foreign Ministry special envoy Alexander Golovin said the coastal nations should head to the next meeting of their presidents "with specific results", adding that the Caspian status convention is to be ready by the summit, which is due in Moscow late this year.

Regarding military cooperation in the Caspian region, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister Khalafov said the littoral countries intend to resolve related issues "by means of a consensus".

"There are different approaches to the solution of the issues of military cooperation in the Caspian," Khalafov said. "One of them is demilitarization of the Caspian, while the other one is regulation of military activity at sea. The sides are looking into all approaches."

Russia’s Alexander Golovin agreed with the Azerbaijani official. He said that none of the Caspian states aims at swift armament at sea. "But if necessary, fleets will be stationed at sea upon mutual agreement."

The working group agreed in conclusion of the discussions to hold its next meeting in Moscow. The parties have yet to agree upon a date of the meeting.