Azerbaijan, Baku, June 21 /Trend/
If some countries show flexibility, work on the preparation of the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea will be completed next year, Iranian Presidential Adviser Mohammad Mehdi Akhundzadeh was quoted by the ISNA as saying.
Akhundzadeh met with journalists and spoke about the agenda of the forthcoming round of negotiations on the convention.
He said the meeting will be held in Moscow in a month and will focus on the work on the coordination of the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
He added that significant progress was stressed at the last meeting.
He thinks that the Moscow meeting will accelerate the development of decisions.
As to finalizing the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Akhundzadeh expressed confidence that if some countries show a little flexibility, it will be possible next year. The consultations are under way on this issue.
In November 2003, the Caspian countries signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.
In July 1998 Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delineation 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 delineation of the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delineation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.