Details added (first version posted on 13:51)
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 5
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
The Caspian Sea countries have reached an agreement on some controversial points in the draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told reporters on Mar.5.
He made the remarks following the 39th meeting of the working group on determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian Sea countries.
The meeting was held on Mar.4-5 in Baku with participation of representatives of the littoral states.
During the negotiations held on Mar.4-5, broad discussions were held on the paragraphs of the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and the Astrakhan Declaration of the heads of Caspian Sea countries, said Khalafov.
The issues related to the environmental problems, use of the water of the Caspian Sea are among the agreed points.
"We hope that we will manage to complete the whole work on the convention in a short time and adopt it at the next summit in Astana," said Khalafov.
He added that the issues related to the legal status of the Caspian Sea and agreeing on all the fundamental issues related to it are the priority for all five littoral states.
To date, the littoral states have signed numerous agreements on the Caspian Sea.
The Caspian Sea states signed a Framework Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.
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 in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to this agreement in May 2002.
Moreover, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.
Additionally, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
Edited by SI
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