Iranian, Russian Officials Confer

Iranian, Russian Officials Confer on Caspian Sea Legal Regime TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior Iranian and Russian diplomats in a meeting in Moscow conferred on the two countries' stances on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, and stressed that issues related to the lake should be resolved by all the littoral states.

During the meeting between Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Akhoundzadeh and head of the Russian delegation in Caspian legal regime talks Igor Bratchikov in Moscow on Thursday, the two sides underlined the necessity for resolving the issues of the Caspian Sea by its littoral states.

The discussions showed proximity of stances between Iran and Russia on the Caspian Sea issues and their determination for expansion of multilateral cooperation in the sea and succeeding in holding talks on Caspian Legal regime.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea.

Caspian Sea littoral states consist of Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. They have been debating their share in the Caspian Sea legal regime since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Caspian Sea legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1921 and 1940. Although under the international law, no state can defy any agreements, which came into being before its establishment, the three new littoral states, established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, do not recognize the prior treaties, triggering a debate on the future status of the sea

by: farsnews