Iran says keen on gaining one-fifth of Caspian shelf
TEHRAN – Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi has said his country’s share in the Caspian Sea shelf is 20 percent and Tehran will leverage all of its efforts to exercise this right, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.
"Substantial discussions among the five coastal countries will be continued, and we will be negotiating without altering our stance," Qashqavi said.
The next summit of the Caspian littoral states’ presidents is due in Baku on November 18.
Iran said earlier that 70 percent of the issues pertaining to the Caspian legal status have been agreed.
The status of the basin has been unresolved for nearly a decade. Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement in 2001 on the delineation of 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 issue remains to be agreed with Iran, which supports equal division of the basin and claims rights to the offshore Alov field. Azerbaijan also faces a long-standing dispute with Turkmenistan over the Kapaz (Sardar) field in the Caspian.
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