Caspian Status to Be Discussed in Baku - Putin

On August 8 in Baku for the first time the heads of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan will discuss prospects for the development of long-term mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of economy, security and the fight against terrorism. In an interview with AzerTaj this was said by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The focus of our talks will be the flagship project of international transport corridor North - South with a total length of 7,200 km. It aims to create the best opportunities for the movement of goods in transit from India, Iran and the Gulf states to the territory of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation and then to Northern and Western Europe," Putin said.

It is obvious that the tripartite dialogue would also include the Caspian component. As is known, in recent years, the Caspian countries made significant progress in the coordination of issues related to various aspects of cooperation in the Caspian Sea, including the use of its energy and biological resources. They signed the relevant agreements that have already been successfully implemented. The work on the basic convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is to be completed soon.

Regarding the relations with Iran, Putin said large-scale joint projects are worked out in the oil and gas industry, the aerospace industry and the power industry. Thus, Russia will provide Iran with two government loans of 2.2 billion euros to finance a thermal power plant near the city of Bandar Abbas and the electrification of the railway section of Garmsar – Ince Burun in the north-east of the country. -02D-