(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Rashid Shirinov
The summit of the heads of the Caspian states, where the draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea will be discussed, will be held in Astana in spring 2018, RIA Novosti quoted Russian president's special representative for humanitarian cooperation with the Caspian countries Ramazan Abdulatipov on December 13.
'The summit of the Caspian countries' heads is likely to be held in spring next year in Astana. Coordination is under way through the Foreign Ministry, Abdulatipov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has earlier said that work on a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is almost completed and the draft convention will be submitted for approval by the Caspian states' heads.
The agreed draft convention implies a sectoral division of the Caspian seabed on the basis of bilateral agreements between the littoral states, says Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov.
No principle of middle line or any other common principle is envisaged for the division of the Caspian seabed, he said on December 12.
He added that issues in this area between Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran should also be resolved on the basis of bilateral agreements. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have already signed similar bilateral agreements.
The deputy minister alsosaid the draft convention includes the principle of dividing the water surface of the Caspian Sea. The sovereignty of the states is included in the 15-mile zone. After this zone, the10-milefishing zone is defined.
'All this isthe territorial waters of the state. The rest will be in joint use, said Khalafov.
The issue of determining the legal status of the sea became relevant after the collapse of the USSR, when the emergence of new subjects of international law - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - raised the issue of delimitation of the Caspian Sea between the five littoral countries.
The difficulties in determining the status of the Caspian Sea are linked, in particular, with the recognition of it as a lake or sea, the delineation of which is regulated by different provisions of international law.
The status of the Caspian remains a key topic of discussions at the Caspian states' summits. The leaders of the five countries met for the first time in 2002 in Ashgabat. The second Caspian summit was held in Tehran in 2007, the third one in Baku in 2010, and the fourth summit in Astrakhan in 2014.
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