Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 11 /Trend, T. Jafarov/
Baku hosts the discussion of the preparation issues for the summit of the Caspian Sea States, which will be held in Russia in 2014, Iran's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Representative for Caspian Affairs Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh told Trend on Wednesday.
According to him, the coordination works on harmonization of status of the Caspian Sea between littoral states are being carried out sequentially.
"At the meeting that will be held in Baku, we are trying to achieve success, which we will able to be presented at the summit in Russia. I believe that the continuous and well-timed meetings and sessions of the deputy foreign ministers, held last year, show that countries are taking serious steps on the determination of the sea's status," Akhundzadeh said.
First of all, before the summit, a meeting of the Foreign Ministers will be held. They will prepare documents, the signing of which is expected to be carried out at the summit, he said.
There are friendly relations between the Caspian Sea countries and I believe that the upcoming summit in Russia will be completed with successful agreements, Iran's special representative said.
On September 11-12, the 33rd session on defining the Caspian Sea's legal status at the level of Caspian states' deputy foreign ministers was held in Baku.
Azerbaijan was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov, Russia by special representative of the President of Russia on the delimitation and demarcation Igor Bratchikov, Kazakhstan by Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Sarybay, Iran by Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh and Turkmenistan by Murad Atadjanov.
The littoral states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran) 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 in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use and in May 2002, a Protocol to the Agreement. On November 29, 2001 and February 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.