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Domestic

Caspian Foreign Ministers meet in Tehran â€“ UPDATED (Fourth paragraph is fresh)

Caspian Foreign Ministers meet in Tehran â€“ <font color=#FF0000>UPDATED (Fourth paragraph is fresh) </font>

20 June 2007 16:44 (UTC +04:00)

â€œThough the status is not thorough it is a good basis to determine the Caspianâ€™s status,â€ the minister said.
The minister publicized the main policy of Iran on the Caspian sea.
â€œIran wants all issues to be solved peacefully,â€ he said.
Mottaki called on the Caspian states to make the Caspian Sea the sea of friendship. He said that issues uncoordinated by deputy ministers and arrangements for the summit of Caspian heads of states to be held in a few months. Noting that the cooperation of regional countries is not satisfactory Iranian minister said that Iran is ready to help the states with "easy, cheap and safe" transfer of their oil and gas. He said that Iran is the most appropriate corridor for exporting Caspianâ€™s energy resources to Persian Gulf, Middle East and east of Asia.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to Caspianâ€™s status and supports positive and constructive solution to the related issues. Speaking of the littoral statesâ€™ energy cooperation Azerbaijani minister said that Azerbaijan uses oil resources in line with current norms.
Underlining the importance of issues of transport and ecosystem Elmar Mammadyarov said demilitarization of the sea is of great importance for the littoral statesâ€™ security and stability.
â€œNew geopolitical condition has been set up on the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijanâ€™s using energy sources is of international efficiency. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is stability factor for the region. I am calling for other countries to join this project. I hope summit of Caspian countries will bring positions together in Caspianâ€™s legal status,â€ he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also attended the conference.
If the new status of the Caspian Sea is not defined, we should not examine previous legal status negatively. All Caspian countries should agree on status,â€ the minister said.
Convention on the legal status of Caspian will not be ready till the second summit of Caspian countries, but interval document can be concluded in this conference.
Lavrov regards that declaration to be debated in the summit should be agreed till the meeting. Russian Minister saying that this is the subject of the debate of today-meeting underlined that five countries agreed to hold summit in Tehran. The minister expressed his confidence in successful results of the conference.
â€œDebates will be carried out for fixing the date of the meeting of the heads of states in the conference, they will exchange views on several important issues, including distribution of Caspian bottom, military issues in the Caspian. The meeting will also discuss banning several ships sailing in the Caspian sea under other flags,â€ the minister said.
â€œTurkmenistan wants the distribution of the Caspian sea basing on international law,â€ Turkmenistanâ€™s Foreign Minister Reshid Meredov said.
The minister considers that interests of all littoral states should be ensured.
â€œTurkmenistan does not support one-sided actions. Turkmenistan has no such an intention,â€ he said.
Reminding the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea the minister expressed his hope that five littoral states will reach an agreement on the Caspianâ€™s status.
The position of a state should be taken into consideration while constructing submarine pipelines in the Caspian Sea, Kazakh Foreign Minister Marat Tajin said while addressing the conference. He said that Kazakhstan is ready to take into consideration the proposal of Iran and Russia on carrying out environmental examination in the areas the pipelines to pass through.
Mr.Tajin commenting on the distribution of the Caspian bottom said that a beautiful precedent has appeared.
â€œAzerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan distributed the north of the sea on the base of bilateral agreements. This is a good example, other Caspian states can use the principles shown in our agreements,â€ he said.
Kajin regards that littoral states should have the right of using all means in the Caspian Sea. Kazakh Foreign Minister proposed including distribution of the sea, definition of the principles of military activity in the sea, transit movement in internal waters, construction of submarine oil and gas pipelines, just distribution of the Caspian bioresources into the agenda of the next meeting of the Caspian heads of states.
Elmar Mammadyarov is expected to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, chairman of Islamic Council Assembly Gulamali Haddad Adel, his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki during the visit. Azerbaijani FM will hold bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers of the Caspian states. APA/