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Deputy Minister: Caspian littoral states likely to reach agreement on Caspian Sea status soon

Politics Materials 23 November 2011 12:31 (UTC +04:00)
The Caspian littoral states are likely to reach an agreement on the text of the Convention on the Caspian status in the near future, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov believes.
Deputy Minister: Caspian littoral states likely to reach agreement on Caspian Sea status soon

Kazakhstan, Astana, Nov. 23 / Trend K.Konyrova /

The Caspian littoral states are likely to reach an agreement on the text of the Convention on the Caspian status in the near future, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov believes.

"There is great progress in many issues of the text of Convention on the status of the Caspian Sea," Khalafov told Trend in Astana on Wednesday. "We were able to reach agreement on many issues. The negotiation process is progressive in nature, many issues are coordinated, and an agreement is likely to be reached on the text of the Convention in the near future."

Khalafov is attending the 30th meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Convention on legal status of the Caspian Sea, which is underway in the capital of Kazakhstan.
"The parties have the will and desire to resolve all issues regarding the Caspian Sea's status, there are similar positions, and we are optimistic on the coordination the text as a whole," Khalafov said.

Unresolved issues on the text of the Convention are not an obstacle to the implementation of energy transportation projects, as there is both local and international understanding, he said.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed in July 1998 an agreement on the delineation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delineation of the Caspian Sea on Nov. 29, 2001, and Feb. 27, 2003.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delineation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.

In November 2003, the Caspian countries signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.

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