“There is no such thing as dividing the Caspian Sea among the littoral states, or determining the seabed and subsoil boundaries in the Convention,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi in a statement on Sunday.
His comment comes as heads of the five Caspian Sea littoral states – Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan – have convened in the Kazakh city of Aktau to sign a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest enclosed body of water contested between the five countries.
Ghasemi went on to add, “the Caspian coastal lines have certain complexities [dealing with which] requires more expert negotiations. We are hopeful that in future each of the five littoral states will reach satisfactory results through understanding and consensus.”
The Iranian diplomat further maintained that the convention excludes the military and non-military presence of any outside country, or the establishment of any military base in the Caspian Sea.
“The five states will not allow other countries to use their sea, soil or airspace to launch attacks on any of the Caspian Sea littoral states,” Ghasemi stressed.
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