Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

All issues related to the legal status of the Caspian Sea may find their solution in an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation among the littoral states, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said at a meeting of the special working group on the legal status of the basin in Baku on September 11.

Khalafov urged the littoral states to continue the ratification of the agreement on cooperation in security, which was adopted at the Baku summit held in November 2010.

According to Khalafov, there are still a number of open questions in determining the status of the sea, in particular, the division of the sea, as well as environmental issues.

The 33rd meeting of the Special Working Group on the Caspian legal status is taking place in Azerbaijani capital on September 11-12 at the level of deputy foreign ministers. The meeting will continue discussions over the draft convention on the legal status of the resource-rich basin.

Deputy Minister Khalafov, Russian President's special representative on the delimitation and demarcation of borders with CIS states, Igor Bratchikov, Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Sarybai, Iran's Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh and Turkmenistan's Murad Atadjanov will attend the event.

Earlier Khalaf Khalafov said that the next summit of the Caspian countries will be held in Russia, while the date of the event is yet to be scheduled.

"Russia thinks that it is necessary to do some serious work to reach certain agreements, and only then to schedule the summit," Khalafov said.

The five Caspian states signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003. In July 1998, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea. On November 29, 2001 and February 27, 2003, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.