Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The Caspian littoral states made new proposals and compromised on the wording of some provisions of the draft convention on the legal status of the sea, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday on the results of 32nd meeting of the Special Working Group on the Convention.

Deputy foreign ministers of the five Caspian littoral states -- Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan - attended the session of the working group held in Tehran on April 23-24.

The heads of delegations presented their countries' positions on key elements of the legal status of the Caspian Sea and various aspects of maritime cooperation during the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The importance of the rapid execution of the decisions of the Third Caspian Summit, held in Baku in 2010, was stressed at the meeting.

A mutual understanding was reached at the meeting on presenting the mapping schemes for further extensive discussion at the next meeting of the Special Working Group.

The sides noted the positive results of the 32nd meeting of the Special Working Group and the need to maintain the pace of negotiations to intensify the coordination of the draft on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called on the neighboring states for stronger cooperation to define the Caspian Sea's legal status, Iranian media reported.

Salehi further said that Iran believes in the long-term regional efforts that will help to maintain stability and security in the Caspian Sea, as well as help to preserve environment and the resources of the sea.

He said that as far as the seabed and sub-sea bed energy resources are concerned, Iran proposes that each littoral state would have its own territory where it operates, would abide to international laws, and make it fair.

Salehi said that the Caspian Sea problems can be solved between the neighbor states, without any foreign intervention, which can cause additional problems.

Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister Khalaf Khalafov said the 33rd session of the Special Working Group at the level of the deputy foreign ministers will be held in Baku in the second half of September.

Khalafov said that the major part of work on drafting convention was made during the Tehran meeting.

"The issues marked in the convention are important to define the sea status. Some of them are considered in the bilateral mode. All the unsolved issues should be discussed and coordinated," he said.

The five Caspian littoral 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 Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 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.