Iran Reiterates Stance on Legal Regime for Caspian SeaIran has reiterated that its stance on establishing a legal regime to govern the Caspian Sea has not changed, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Wednesday.The statement came in response to a Tuesday report by Azeri state-run TV that Viktor Kalyuzhny, Russian president's special envoy on Caspian Sea affairs, told Azeri President Heidar Aliyevand that based on existing realities, changes were felt in Iran's stance on the way to determine the legal regime for the Caspian Sea. An informed source at the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Iran has rejected Kalyuzhny's saying and still believes that agreements reached between Iran and the former Soviet Union in 1921 and 1940 are the most suitable basis for the determination of the legal regime. These accords will meet the interests of the five littoral states with the foremost being the proportional exploitation of the sea, the source said, stressing that Iran believes that fair share is the only way that will ensure peace, stability and lasting development in the region. Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are the five states surrounding the Caspian Sea. The five nations have long called for the establishment of a legal regime to govern the Caspian Sea, which is estimated to contain the world's third largest reserves of oil and gas, following the Persian Gulf and Siberia. Iran has repeatedly indicated that it will agree to an equitable sharing of the oil-rich Caspian Sea, which would give it a share of 20 percent. |
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