Source: Kazakh TV
The ‘Caspian Five’ foreign ministers held talks in Astana. During the meeting, representatives of Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran have discussed the draft Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Erlan Idrissov, the document will lay a solid foundation for the future formation of relations in the Caspian Sea, as well as ensure the stable development of the entire region. He also noted that, despite the existing solid legal base, “the Caspian five” plans to further increase the pace of development of international treaties in various fields, including on security issues in the Caspian Sea.
Erlan IDRISSOV, FOREIGN MINISTER OF KAZAKHSTAN:
A meeting in such format is held in Kazakhstan for the first time and marks an important stage of preparation for the fifth Summit of the “Caspian Five”, which is scheduled in Kazakhstan. Negotiations on the settlement of the legal status of the Caspian Sea in the framework of the special working group had begun nearly twenty years ago. During this period, the parties had held a tremendous amount of work and made significant progress in the harmonization of certain elements of the legal regime of the Caspian Sea. During the discussion and exchange of views, the participants of the negotiation process managed to come close to reaching a consensus on the draft Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.