Kazakhstan, Astana, September 2 / Trend K. Konyrova /
Establishment of a Turkmen military-naval base in the Caspian Sea in the near future should not be considered to be a result of disputes between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Azerbaijani Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Latif Gandilov, told Trend correspondent on September 2.
"One should not think that the Turkmen President's statement on establishing a military-naval base in the Caspian Sea is as a result of differences between our countries - Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan", the diplomat said. The Ambassador noted that Turkmenistan has an agreement with Europe to supply gas for several pipelines, and, accordingly, any transportation requires ensuring the supplies' security.
"Turkmenistan is a peace-loving country. The actions that have been taken should be considered positively, not negatively," the Azerbaijani ambassador said.
It was said earlier that Turkmenistan intends to create a military-naval base with both the Defense Ministry and border guards at the Caspian Sea in the nearest future, the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said at an extended meeting of the State Security Council on August 30.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov instructed the heads of military and law enforcement ministries and departments "to effectively combat the smugglers, terrorists, and any other forces which will attempt to violate Turkmenistan's state maritime border, or to create an unstable situation there."
Turkmenistan has not defined its Caspian Sea borders with other nations yet.
On the division of the bottom of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have no claims on one another's. There are both bilateral and trilateral agreements between these countries on the issue. The parties have also agreed to determine the coordinates of the dividing lines. The issue is yet to be agreed with just two countries - Turkmenistan and Iran - due to which the status of the Caspian Sea has not yet been defined, despite many years of discussions.
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