Kazakhstan, Astana, Dec.13 / Trend, K. Konyrova /
Kazakhstan stands for adopting the Concept on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said in Astana on Tuesday addressing at a meeting with Kazakh diplomatic missions.
"Today it is necessary to adopt the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea based on agreements reached during the Third Caspian Summit in Baku in November 2010," Kazykhanov said.
He recalled that the agenda includes issue of crossing the state borders in the Caspian Sea. The Caspian littoral states face a difficult task to resolve issues related to delimitation of the sea areas and promoting operations related to the development of its biological and mineral resources, navigation, as well as environmental protection.
"Over twenty years of seeking compromises, positions of some littoral states have changed and today most of the Convention on legal status of the Caspian Sea has been coordinated," Kazykhanov said.
The littoral states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran) signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.
In July 1998, 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.
On Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.