Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:
The signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea by the five Caspian littoral states opens up broad prospects for good neighborly use of the resources available in the Caspian Sea, Mikhail Bocharnikov, the Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan, said during an event at the Baku Slavic University dedicated to the activities of the diplomatic service of Russia.
The ambassador described the reaching of a consensus on determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea as a positive move.
"The economic component of the Caspian is of great importance, and rational use of all the possibilities is crucial. However, a number of issues between the Caspian countries remain unresolved. The maritime boundary between the Caspian countries, for example, is still not fully divided, although the principle of the median line is taken as the basis for the division of the sea basin,” continued Bocharnikov.
The ambassador noted that the lack of delimitation in the Caspian is mainly associated with the position of Iran, whose coastline is cut, which in turn complicates the holding of a median line.
As Bocharnikov said, the position of the Iranian side on this issue differs from that of other Caspian countries, since Tehran is not satisfied with the sector that it will potentially get according to this principle.
A meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran was held on August 12 in Aktau, during which the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea was signed.
In addition, other important documents connected with this Convention were signed by heads of the relevant structures of the five countries, namely the Protocol on Cooperation in Combating Organized Crime in the Caspian Sea, the Agreement between the Governments of the Caspian States on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of transport between the governments of the Caspian littoral states, the Agreement on Prevention of Incidents in the Caspian Sea and the Protocol on Cooperation and interaction of border agencies.
