Caspian Littoral Countries Should Resolve All Disputes before Summit of Heads of State

The settlement of all still uncoordinated provisions of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea should be completed before the next Summit of Heads of Caspian States. It was declared by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, speaking in Astana at a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Caspian countries, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

Baku hopes for an early solution to the issues on the delimitation of the seabed in the central and southern parts of the Caspian Sea, Mammadyarov said, noting that these issues had been resolved between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

"Azerbaijan believes that the legal status of the Caspian Sea should be resolved in a spirit of respect for the sovereign rights of littoral states with regard to regional stability, security, economic and scientific activities in the Caspian Sea. “Strengthening stability in the Caspian Sea should be based on the interests of all parties and the principle of not harming each other's security, respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the Caspian states and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other,” said Mammadyarov.

"Issues related to the strengthening of international cooperation, development and transportation of energy resources to international markets, the creation of secure and reliable communications, involving highly profitable and environmentally friendly technologies are important priorities of coastal states," he said. -02D-