Russia, Kazakhstan say border demarcation fieldwork successful

MOSCOW, October 7 (Itar-Tass) -- Moscow and Astana believe that the
just concluded demarcation fieldwork on their border was successful.
The Russian-Kazakhstani commission on the demarcation of the state
border held its 21st meeting in Moscow from September 27 to October 1.
The sides "expressed satisfaction with the successful end of the field
season of demarcation work in 2010 and exchanged views on the schedule of
the commission's work in 2011," the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday,
October 6.
"The negotiations were held in a constructive atmosphere. The next
meeting of the joint Russian-Kazakhstani commission on the demarcation of
the state border will be held in Almaty in October 2010," the ministry
said.
The legal status of the Kazakh section of the Russian state border is
determined by the treaty between Moscow and Astana on the Russian-Kazakh
state border of January 18, 2005. It confirmed delimitation of the longest
in the world land section (over 7,500 kilometres) of the border between
two states. Demarcation will become the final stage of the treaty.
On June 29, 2007 the Russian government approved a resolution on
forming a Russian delegation for the joint demarcation commission and
measures to ensure its activity. Since July 2007, the joint demarcation
commission has been developing and passing documents regulating the
demarcation process and determining on the delimitation map sites where
frontier marks are to be installed.
In connection with continuing work on the status of the Caspian Sea
between the five coastal states (Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran
and Azerbaijan), the sea border between Russia and Kazakhstan has not been
established. The northern part of the sea floor is divided for subsurface
resources management.
Russian Ambassador at Large Alexander Golovin has confirmed that all
issues pertaining to the use of subsoil resources in the northern part of
the Caspian Sea have been settled.
"Russia has approved and signed an agreement with Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea,"
Golovin said.
"Issues pertaining to the use of subsoil resources in this triangle
have been resolved," he said, adding, "An agreement was signed on the
junction point of the zones of subsoil use."
"So, all issues pertaining to the use of subsoil resources in the
northern part of the Caspian Sea have been resolved. All possibilities for
the use of resources in the Caspian Sea are available," Golovin said.
Speaking of the southern and middle parts of the Caspian Sea, he said,
"This is prerogative of the states concerned."
Meanwhile, Russia is continuing to work on a convention that will
determine the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said earlier.
"Russia has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on how
to delimit the seabed. But the waters and the airspace over this area have
not been delimited yet," Lavrov said.
"And this is what should be the subject of the convention on the legal
status of the Caspian Sea, on which we are continuing to work quite
actively," the minister said.
He stressed that there was no "legal vacuum". "As long as there is no
convention, the Soviet-Iranian agreements of 1921 and 1940 continue to
remain in effect in accordance with international law," he explained.
"However the need for signing the convention is determined mainly by
the fact that three new states have been in existence on the Caspian Sea
for almost 20 years, and it is necessary to look for an agreement that
would ensure the interests of all littoral states," Lavrov said.
"We believe that, all specific features of the Caspian Sea considered,
it is important to come to agreement as soon as possible on the matters
that concern the use of the sea, the protection of its resources, regulate
navigation and fishing, the development of mineral resources, and
environment protection," the minister said.
The problem is not that "some are less active and others are more
active", but that "some of the Caspian neighbours suggest applying
national jurisdiction to the littoral zone of such length that it will
leave virtually no free sea," Lavrov said.
"Russia is ready to make compromises and to recognise the need for a
national territorial belt, but on condition that the freedom of navigation
should not be called into question and that fishing should be carried out
in the Caspian Sea in such a way that would prevent fish from extinction,"
he said.