Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Dec.17 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
A two-day meeting of the special working group at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states on the development of a draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea starts in Ashgabat, an official Turkmen source said on Monday.
In addition, Ashgabat is scheduled to host a meeting of representatives of the Caspian littoral states to discuss the draft agreement on the protection and rational use of biological resources of the Caspian Sea on Dec.19-21, 2012.
The Foreign Ministry and State Enterprise for the Caspian Sea Related Issues under President of Turkmenistan are entrusted to organize the event.
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.
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.