Baku, Azerbaijan, July 13
Trend:
The Caspian Five Summit, which brings together the Caspian states’ leaders, will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2017, said Erlan Idrissov, Kazakh foreign minister, RIA Novosti reported July 13.
He said the exact date of the Summit will be set later.
“Today, we have at the political level confirmed the general attitude and understanding of the need to sign the convention on the Caspian Sea’s legal status in Astana at the summit of heads of the Caspian states the next year,” Idrissov said at a press conference following the talks of the Caspian states’ foreign ministers in Astana.
The Caspian states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran - signed a Framework Convention for 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 the agreement in May 2002.
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.