Caspian Sea Legal Regime Not Finalized Yet

Tehran, April 22, IRNA – Caspian Sea legal regime has not been finalized yet by the littoral states, the Deputy Foreign Minister for Caspian Sea, Asia and Pacific affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour said on Monday. Talking to IRNA, he noted that despite the constructive talks among Caspian Sea littoral states, resolving the legal status of the world’s largest inland sea needs more discussions. Ministerial meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states aims to prepare the ground for the fourth Caspian summit due to be held in Astrakhan in autumn, the deputy foreign minister added. He noted that foreign ministers of the Caspian Sea littoral states will discuss the program and agenda of the summit as well as the final document. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is scheduled to travel to Russia to attend the ministerial meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are the littoral states of the Caspian Sea. The issue of the Caspian Sea’s legal regime has gained importance following the breakup of the USSR and the emergence of newly independent states. The meeting will also analyze the work done since the last Caspian summit in Baku in 2010./end