Azerbaijan , Baku, April 27 / Trend S. Agayeva /
The Caspian littoral countries intend to solve military cooperation issues in the Caspian Sea by consensus, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told media.
"There are different approaches to solve military cooperation issues in the Caspian Sea," he said. "One of them is the demilitarization of the Caspian Sea and the second is the regulation of the military activity at sea. All these approaches are considered by the parties."
He said all countries are united in their position that the Caspian Sea must be peaceful and serve to benefit Caspian littoral countries.
"The main thing is to ensure equal conditions of security," Khalafov said.
Russia's representative, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Golovin said none of the Caspian littoral countries are going to organize an arms race in the Caspian Sea.
"We must solve this issue by consensus," he said.
The working group meeting on drafting a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea issued a communiqué following the meeting.
In November 2003, the Caspian countries signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.
In July 1998 Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delineation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use.
On Nov. 29, 2001, and Feb. 27, 2003, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delineation of the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan , Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delineation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.