Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 2
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Ashgabat is hosting the 49th meeting of a special working group on development of a Convention on legal status of the Caspian Sea at the level of deputy foreign minister of the Caspian littoral states, the Turkmen government said in a message.
During the meeting, heads of delegations of the Caspian littoral states gave information about their states’ positions on certain provisions of the convention.
It was emphasized that a number of key points of the convention – the basic international treaty regulating the most important aspects of activities of littoral states, including in areas of their national jurisdiction – has been agreed upon.
The draft document also includes modern principles and norms of international law in the field of navigation, environmental protection and rational nature management, in particular, the use of the biological resources of the Caspian Sea, according to the message.
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.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
The Caspian littoral states – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran – signed the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.