Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Dec.18 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
A special group at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states stood for an early conclusion of the work on a draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which gathered in Ashgabat in these days (Dec.17-18), the Turkmen media outlets reported on Tuesday.
The Foreign Ministry and State Enterprise for the Caspian Sea issues under the President of Turkmenistan is holding the event.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Khalaf Khalafov is representing the country at the meeting.
"The parties expressed a mutual interest in the early completion of the work on the final text of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, as well as a common desire to continue searching for mutually acceptable solutions on the conceptual provisions of this basic document designed to be a reliable legal tool of relationship of the five littoral states in various areas of vital activity in the Caspian Sea," Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary reported.
Stating the high effectiveness of the joint work done in recent years, members of delegations stressed that the joint discussion of the Caspian Sea issue allowed bringing closer the parties' positions and establishing constructive cooperation in the search for a consensus.
The concrete result of this work was the adoption of the first multilateral international legal document - the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003, based on which today conservation activities are underway in the Caspian Sea, as well as the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea, signed on Nov.18, 2010.
The Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported on Tuesday that the heads of the delegations of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia emphasized the importance of continuing the various consultations by expressing confidence in the efficiency of the next round of negotiations.
The parties also stressed the need to create new formats for communication of experts, scientists, professionals, government agencies and companies for further convergence of positions and making coordinated decisions on the Caspian issues to preserve the unique natural reservoir, rational development of its rich resources and development of efficient international cooperation in the Caspian Sea .
The Vatan newspaper reported that Turkmen side urged delegations of all the littoral states to make efforts to finalize the work on the draft agreement on cooperation of the littoral states in the field of hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea in order to sign it in autumn of 2013.
The importance of the Caspian Environmental Forum, held in Turkmenbashi in November 2012 was also stressed.
"Stressing the importance of making a coordinated, mutually acceptable decision on the status of the common unique reservoir, the sides emphasized Turkmenistan's commitment to search for the best option of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea as a base document designed to regulate the relationship of the littoral states and create a legal framework for efficient international cooperation," the article says.
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.