Caspian status to be discussed in Ashgabat
By Nigar Orujova
A two-day meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the special group of Caspian Sea littoral states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran - on a draft convention of the basin's legal status starts in Ashgabat on Monday, an official Turkmen source said.
Ashgabat is also scheduled to host a meeting of the Caspian states' representatives to discuss the draft agreement on the protection and rational use of biological resources of the Caspian Sea on December 19-21.
The Foreign Ministry and State Enterprise for the Caspian Sea Related Issues under the President of Turkmenistan are in charge of organizing the event.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise their sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed agreements on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea on November 29, 2001 and February 27, 2003.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sectors of the Caspian on May 14, 2003.
A protocol on the protection of Caspian Sea environment was adopted in Moscow last Wednesday, the Russian ministry of ecology has said. The protocol will ensure the implementation of the Tehran Convention signed by all five littoral states in the Iranian capital in 2003. The document aims to prevent, reduce, control and eliminate pollution and support environmentally friendly Caspian marine environment.