Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov underlined that the five Caspian Sea littoral states - Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - are in favor of peace and sustainable development in the region.

“In recent years we’ve succeeded in creating a contractual and legal groundwork and solving all problems on an equal basis and account of the interests of each other,” Lavrov said, addressing the Caspian Sea littoral states' ministerial meeting in Moscow on Tuesday.

“The meeting is the preparation for the 4th summit,” he said.

“The leaders of our countries pay much attention to the Caspian problem and such approach is supported by our countries’ public,” Lavrov said.

“(During the last meeting) on the Caspian legal status we set the task to work out parameters for waste disposal in the water area, on security - to start implementing agreements to maintain the Caspian Sea as a water area of peace and security, on fisheries - to create a mechanism for imposing a moratorium on sturgeon catching. Today we’ll determine major trends for further work,” Lavrov said.

He made the remarks, addressing a meeting in which the foreign ministers of the 5 Caspian Sea littoral states were participating. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Moscow on Monday to attend the meeting.

The participating members will discuss regional affairs as well as multilateral and bilateral relations.

Following the present ministerial meeting, the Caspian Sea littoral states’ leaders will convene in a meeting in the Russian port city of Astrakhan in September 2014.

The Caspian Sea littoral states have been debating their share in the Caspian Sea legal regime since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
 

News ID 186560