Tehran has never used more than 11.3% of the Caspian Sea resources, Manuchohr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said in talks with journalists on 30 December.
"The share of Iran in the use of Caspian resources has never reached 50%. This figure is illogical and there is no agreement confirming it," he said. "Enemies of the nation of Iran and those who are concerned on Iran's role in the region, spread news as though in the past Iran used 50% of the Caspian resources."
Mottaki said that the development of the legal regime of the Caspian Sea on the agenda of Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan". "Share of every of them will be defined in accordance with the principle of justice and division of natural wealth for the use of sea resources," he added.
The Iranian Foreign Minister reminded that the Kazakhstan 24%-share in the Caspian Sea, Russian 20%, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan". He gave to understand that Tehran is firm on its ground to defend its interests in this sphere.
On 16 October 2007 Tehran hosted the second summit of the Caspian littoral countries, where a serious step was taken in the way of development of the Convention on legal status of the Caspian sea. The two sides reached an agreement on many issues, whereas there are still disagreements on the Caspian legal status. Nevertheless, in the final declaration of the summit the sides decided to continue coordinating the issue on establishment of the agreed width and total water area in the Caspian Sea, as well as relevant legal regimes."
With respect the Caspian sea ground division, the sides indicated in the final Declaration that they will carry out it with the consideration of their sovereign rights and respect to each others' legal interests.
Even during the first summit in Ashgabat in 2002 Russia and the Caspian countries signed some agreements on the division of the Caspian Sea ground. They designed a legal agreement basis over development of mineral wealth in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. So far, it has been impossible to reach agreement on the south part of the Caspian Sea in the triangle among Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan.