Caspian Sea legal status remains Kazakh foreign ministry’s priority

Kazakhstan, Astana, April 23 / Trend D. Mukhtarov / Determining the legal status of Caspian Sea remains a priority of Kazakhstan's diplomacy, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said on Monday. "The Caspian issue is very important," the minister said. Kazykhanov said that the countries will discuss the Kazakh President's proposal on the Caspian Sea at the upcoming summit of Caspian littoral countries. "President Nazarbayev's proposal was supported by all five Caspian littoral countries," Kazykhanov said at the governmental hour in Majilis (lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament). "At present, working groups are actively working. We are preparing for the next summit." Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the last summit of the Caspian littoral countries in Baku put forward the idea of creating the so-called territorial zones, fishing zones and zones for general use in the Caspian Sea. Earlier in an interview with Trend Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said that the next summit of Caspian littoral countries must take place in Turkmenistan this year. Kazykhanov expressed hope that all five Caspian littoral countries will be able to agree on the legal status of the sea in the foreseeable future. The littoral states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran) signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003. In July 1998, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use. On Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az