Iran Opposes Unilateral Action in Caspian Sea: President

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 16, 2002

Iran Opposes Unilateral Action in Caspian Sea: President

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said on Wednesday that Iran is against any "unilateral and provocative" action in the Caspian Sea, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

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Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said on Wednesday that Iran is against any "unilateral and provocative" action in the Caspian Sea, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Addressing people in Noshahr city in Iran's northern province of Mazandaran, Khatami stressed that Iran calls for "prudent discussions to determine the Caspian Sea's legal regime while keeping in mind justice for all littoral states."

"We do not in any way support intervention by foreign forces in the sea that belongs to the five littoral states," said Khatami.

He stressed that Caspian has to remain "a sea of peace" and the Iranian nation has the duty towards it and is determined to protect the energy-rich sea, which is believed to contain the world's third largest reserves of oil and gas after the Persian Gulf and Siberia.

He said that the treaties of 1921 and 1940 between Iran and the former Soviet Union are the only legal basis of any decision on the Caspian and any legal regime should be devised based on these treaties.

Khatami said that while Iran is determined to safeguard its natural and just interests in the sea, it is striving to reach a consensus in drawing up a legal regime, "which gives all the littoral nations a just stake in using the Caspian's resources."

Khatami's remarks followed an agreement reached on Monday between Russia and Kazakhstan to share the northern part of the Caspian Sea bed.

Iran sticks firmly to the stance that it considers any unilateral deals for energy exploration in the Caspian Sea as null and void before the legal regime of the sea is determined.

Last month, leaders from Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan gathered in the Turkmen capital of Ashkhabad to narrow their differences over how to divide the energy-rich waters.

Of the five Caspian members, Iran and Turkmenistan have been pushing for an agreement to secure an equal sharing, or 20 percent, of the underwater wealth, a formula opposed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

The latter three favor a principle of carving up the sea into national sectors, corresponding roughly to the length of each country's shoreline, leading to a possibility that might leave Iran with only a 13-percent share.

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