Azerbaijan, Baku, July 9 / Trend M. Aliyev /
The next negotiations on the Caspian Sea status will be held in Ashgabat in the five-sided format until September, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told media on Monday.
"The potential of the negotiations on the Caspian Sea status has not been exhausted yet and will be used to resolve this issue," he added.
Khalafov added that general issues on the Caspian Sea status are being discussed in the five-sided format. The work over a draft Convention relating to the Caspian Sea status is also underway.
"Moreover discussions are still in force in a bilateral format with Turkmenistan and Iran. Delegations are working on this matter," he added.
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.