Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Nov. 5 /Trend News, H.Hasanov/

Ashgabat wants to resolve Caspian issues through diplomacy, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported.

Since 1992, the five Caspian littoral states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran - have actively negotiated the issue, and interested parties are seeking mutually acceptable solutions.

"Turkmenistan is committed to upholding the national interests of all parties in the negotiation process and is steadily guided by international legal standards adopted on the issue," the ministry reported. "Turkmenistan supports resolving Caspian Sea-related issues only via diplomatic means."

For the first time, an agreement on the need for a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea was hammered out at the first meeting of Caspian foreign ministers in Ashgabat Nov. 11-12, 1996.

The meeting determined organizational and legal form of a permanent negotiating mechanism in the body of a special working group whose activity has intensified in recent years. The Turkmen capital is presently holding a regular meeting where Azerbaijan is represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov.

A fundamental principle of Turkmenistan's foreign policy is "to provide favorable conditions for a committed partnership, implement mutually beneficial economic projects in various fields, and create an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding."

"This applies especially to neighboring states with which Turkmenistan is linked historically, culturally, and geographically," the ministry said. "Good-neighborliness, mutual respect and equality are important factors for joint collaboration to strengthen peace, security and international cooperation in the Caspian Sea region."

The convention on the Caspian Sea's legal status will allow defeat existing problems in conserving, reproducing and using its biological resources, Ashgabat believes. Similarly, issues of merchant shipping, and hydrocarbon use and development from the sea's seabed and subsoil will also be resolved.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov recently said Turkmenistan is reviewing the possibility of entering bilateral talks with Azerbaijan to discuss a number of fields in the Caspian Sea. He noted that there are several "good options" for reaching a compromise.

The two Turkic states are considered by the EU as a primary energy source for the future Nabucco gas pipeline project via Turkey, which will allow European countries to diversify their energy markets.