Russia opposes the division of the Caspian Sea into national sectors

Special Presidential Envoy for the delimitation and demarcation of borders, special envoy of the Foreign Ministry, Igor Bratchikov, said Moscow opposes the division of the Caspian Sea into national sectors. At a press conference on Monday, he said that Russia, from the very outset, opposed the division of the Caspian Sea. However, later Russia  agreed to the creation of so-called national zones, 25 miles from the coast, on the Caspian Sea.

"I would like to emphasize that these national belts save total water space. The Russian side does not support the division of the Caspian sea into sectors," said Bratchikov.

On September 29 Astrakhan will  host the fourth Caspian summit with the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Bratchikov expressed the opinion that at this meeting, progress will be made on the status of the Caspian Sea.

"I'm sure there a major step towards reaching agreement on  the aspects of the convention that remain open. Specifically, he expressed the view that the summit will be able to move forward in addressing the topic of the water surface of the Caspian Sea.

The position of Moscow tightened after Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have actively discussed the possibility of the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, which will bring Turkmen gas to Europe via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan, bypassing Russia.

Russian experts already express concern about the beginning of the project of the Southern Gas Corridor,   the foundation of which was laid on  September 20 in Azerbaijan.

There are immediate risks for Russia in this project, since the primary gas supplies from the Caspian region will not exceed $ 10 billion cube per year. However, in the future when other countries will join the system, Iran and Turkmenistan, as well as Iraq, there will be a serious competition to Russian gas supplies, says expert Michael Krutihin.-02D-