Russian President Says Bilateral Deals on Caspian Acceptable

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 26, 2002

Russian President Says Bilateral Deals on Caspian Acceptable

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia might seek bilateral agreements on the Caspian Sea if a deal involving all five Caspian nations is impossible.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia might seek bilateral agreements on the Caspian Sea if a deal involving all five Caspian nations is impossible.

"If it is impossible to come to an agreement on all problems with all the Caspian states, Russia considers it correct to settle problems with its neighbors on a bilateral basis," Putin told a press conference in Russia's southern city of Astrakhan, where he is on an inspection tour.

"If even on a bilateral basis we are unable to come to agreements on the entire range of problems, we will seek agreements on individual problems, such as ecological and transportation issues," said the president.

Putin just came back from a Caspian summit held from Tuesday to Wednesday in Turkmen capital of Ashgabat. Presidents from five states bordering the oil-rich Caspian Sea, which also include Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, failed to sign even a general declaration on how to divide the underwater riches of the sea.

In comments on a planned Russian naval exercise in the Caspian, Putin said the primary task of the maneuver was to train methods for combating terrorism and drug trafficking.

The Russian navy is superior to that of any other Caspian country and "we must set an example in this sphere," Putin said, adding that other Caspian states had been invited to send their observers to the exercise.

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