Azerbaijani deputy FM: Potential of negotiations on Caspian Sea status not exhausted

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 9 / Trend M. Aliyev / The next negotiations on the Caspian Sea status will be held in Ashgabat in the five-sided format till September, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told media on Monday. "The potential of the negotiations on the Caspian Sea status has not been exhausted yet and it will be used to resolve this issue," he added. Khalafov added that general issues on the Caspian Sea status are being discussed in the five-sided format. The work over a draft Convention relating to the Caspian Sea status is also underway. "Moreover, the discussions are still in force in the bilateral format with Turkmenistan and Iran," he added. "The work of the delegations in this sphere is underway," Khalafov said. 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