Baku, Azerbaijan, May 20
Trend:
The Azerbaijani-Russian relations, as well as the topical issues of international policy have been discussed in Moscow, a message posted on the website of Russia's Foreign Ministry said.
The discussions were held by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Khalaf khalafov, who is in Moscow to participate in consultations on the Caspian Sea issues.
Azerbaijani-Russian consultations on the Caspian Sea are being held in Moscow, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry earlier said.
The negotiations are led by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov and Russia's special presidential envoy for the delimitation and demarcation of state borders, and head of the Russian delegation to the multilateral talks on the Caspian Sea, Igor Bratchikov.
The coastal states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran) signed a Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998.
They signed a protocol to this agreement in May 2002. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed agreements on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003.
Additionally, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
Edited by C.N.