Tehran, Iran, Aug. 27
By Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
The next meeting of the working group on the Caspian Sea legal status determination is planned to be held in Moscow in early September, Ibrahim Rahimpur, Iranian president's special representative on the Caspian Sea status, told Trend exclusively.
"The issues on the Caspian Sea legal status determination, still uncoordinated by the Caspian littoral countries, are planned to be discussed at the meeting," he said.
Rahimpur said that the security of the Caspian Sea has been fully ensured.
"All five Caspian littoral countries are able to use its biological resources," he said. "Nevertheless, there are still issues that should be discussed. The discussions will be held till the sides come to an agreement."
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.
Caspian states signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.