Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The next session of the special Working Group on the development of Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is scheduled for January 27-29 in Ashgabat.

Turkmen Foreign Ministry and the State Enterprise on the Caspian Sea Issues under the President of Turkmenistan will be the forum’s organizers.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov approved the composition of the Interdepartmental Commission on the Caspian Sea, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov prior to the meeting.

The uncertainty of the legal status of the Caspian Sea is one of the most discussed topics in between the five coastal states -- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran for more than 20 years.

Baku supports defining the Caspian Sea's legal status based on the sovereign rights of the littoral states, a mutually beneficial partnership, and peaceful negotiations.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of their respective Caspian maritime borders in 2003.

Azerbaijan, together with Kazakhstan and Russia, agreed on the delimitation of the sea in early 2000. Turkmenistan and Iran, however, have not reached a consensus yet.

Once all Caspian states ratify the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea, signed in 2010 in Baku, a new impetus will be given for close cooperation between the sides.

Significant progress has been achieved in drafting a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea in September 2014.

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