Iran, Russia Call for Vigilance Against Foreign Interference in Caspian IssueIran and Russia on Wednesday expressed their concern over foreign interference in the Caspian issue and called for continued consultations among the five littoral states of the sea.The concern was voiced by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and visiting Russian envoy on Caspian Sea affairs Viktor Kalyuzhny during their talks on the latest developments on the issue. Kharazi said that the Caspian states should keep vigilance and not allow any third countries to interfere with the Caspian issue, adding that the littoral states should reach consensus on the legal regime of the sea through dialogue. He reiterated the call for avoiding any action that may cause misunderstanding and tension. He welcomed continued consultations and the growing relations between Iran and Russia. "Iran expects Russia to adopt explicit and clarified stance toward the Caspian Sea to encourage cooperation among the littoral states in order to keep the sea as the sea of peace and friendship," he said. For his part, Kalyuzhny noted that the United States and Turkey are looking for pretext to interfere in the affairs of the Caspian Sea and Russia is against presence of any external forces in the sea. Issues concerning the Caspian Sea should be settled by the five littoral states and no other country has the right to interfere, he stressed. The Russian envoy also emphasized the need for greater efforts by the Caspian states to reach an agreement on safeguarding the environment, natural resources and ecology of the inland sea. The Caspian Sea is estimated to contain the world's third largest reserves of oil and gas after the Persian Gulf and Siberia. Because of their differences on the Caspian issue, the five littoral states -- Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan -- have postponed a summit meeting on division of the resource-rich sea for several times, although they have been also worried about Western interference with the issue. Among the five coastal states, Iran and Turkmenistan have pushed for division of the sea into five equal sectors, while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia contend that the sea floor should be divided into national sectors, which would leave Iran with the smallest slice. Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan rose recently with an Iranian warship last month threatening to fire on an Azeri oil research ship in a disputed sector of the Caspian Sea. Analysts here projected that the five Caspian littoral states may resolve their disputes and reach a final agreement on the Caspian legal regime during their long-delayed summit which is currently planned for October in the Turkmen capital of Ashkhabad. |
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