Kazakhstan, Astana, Oct. 11 / Trend , A.Maratov /
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi believes only the littoral states should be involved
in solving the problems of the Caspian Sea. Other countries' military presence in the Caspian Sea should not be allowed, he said at a press conference in Tehran.
"The Caspian Sea belongs to the five states and all that is happening to it concerns us," Salehi said. "It is important that there was no military presence of other states in the Caspian Sea. Demilitarization of the Caspian region is also important issue."
Convention on Security in the Caspian Sea was signed during the Third Summit of Caspian states in Baku in November 2010. Document prohibits military involvement of third countries in the Caspian region affairs.
All projects that are being implemented or are planned to be realized on the Caspian Sea are noteworthy, Salehi said. However, there must be a balance between the economic attractiveness of projects and their impact on the environment of the Caspian Sea.
Iran, he said, gives priority to environmental aspects such as protection of the environment and biological resources of the Caspian Sea.
One of the major projects to be implemented in the Caspian Sea is a Trans-Caspian pipeline to transport the Turkmen gas to Europe.
Trans-Caspian pipeline length 300 km will be laid on the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it will be connected to the Southern Gas Corridor. Talks on this pipeline were launched in late 1990s.