Astana, Kazakhstan, Dec.26
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Kazakhstan seeks to sign a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea during the summit to be held in Astana in 2016, the country's Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov said at a briefing in Astana on Dec.26.
"Kazakhstan is the active participant of the negotiation process on the legal status of the Caspian Sea," he said, adding that active and laborious work is still to be done within this process.
The minister said that some difficult issues remain regarding the legal status of the Caspian Sea, therefore the negotiation process will continue.
"But we hope that we will be able to reach a compromise on the unresolved issues and achieve a political solution and possibly sign a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea," said Idrissov, adding that it is an 'ambitious task'.
The minister said that Kazakh president has given concrete instructions [on this issue] and the country will take active measures to saturate the upcoming Astana summit on the Caspian Sea in 2016 with political content.
Idrissov reminded that an important summit on the legal status of the Caspian Sea has already been held in Russia's Astrakhan city in 2014, adding that the important political decisions made during that summit brought closer the day of signing of the convention.
Intergovernmental five-party agreements were signed during the 4th Caspian Summit in Astrakhan on Sept. 29.
The relevant ministries of the Caspian littoral countries signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea, an agreement on cooperation in the field of prevention of emergency situations in the Caspian Sea and liquidation of their consequences, an agreement on the protection of aquatic biological resources of the Caspian Sea and their rational use.
The Caspian Sea littoral states signed a Framework Convention for the 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 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.
Edited by SI