Lavrov says RF sees no crisis in Caspian legal status settlement.

(adds, contains pronouncements of the Kazakhstani FM)
7/11 Tass 199

MOSCOW, November 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russia sees no crisis in the process
of the settlement on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday after the meeting with his
Kazakhstani counterpart Kanat Saudabayev.

"We see no crisis in the work on the settlement of the legal status of
the Caspian Sea," Lavrov said. "These are no simple questions; the work
goes on."
Saudabayev noted that "Kazakhstan and Russia were the locomotives in
deciding the matter of the status of the Caspian Sea." "Regrettably, the
decisions on this matter depend not only on our countries but also on
other three countries (Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan)," he noted. "But
the stands of Russia and Kazakhstan showed the readiness for
understanding."
"This sea must be the sea of friendship and consideration for mutual
interests," the Kazakhstani minister believes.
-0-saf/gor