Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Ashgabat hosted the 36th meeting of the Special Working Group on the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Turkmenistan's media reported.

Delegations from Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan took part in the event.

The delegations noted the fact that the process of determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which has a long history, has entered into an active phase.

"The delegates expressed hope that the participant countries will work out the optimal ways of resolving the Caspian Sea issue to preserve the unique natural reservoir, the rational development of its rich resources, by firmly cementing the status of the Caspian Sea as a sea of peace and harmony," the local media reported.

The agenda included the issues related to preparations to the next summit of Caspian Sea countries' heads, to be held in the first half of 2014 in Astrakhan.

The Ashgabat meeting participants also exchanged views on finding mutually acceptable solutions to conceptual provisions of the draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

In July 1998, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea. On Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea.

The five Caspian littoral states signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.

The convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is designed to create a legal basis for the long-term international cooperation, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov earlier said.