BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. Ratification of the
Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea meets Iran's
interests.
This was announced by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas
Araghchi at a press conference organized by Iranian President
Masoud Pezeshkian with reporters today.
"The convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea was sent
to the Iranian parliament for a decision by the then government in
2018 and 2019. Four littoral countries have accepted the
convention. Iran's acceptance of this convention depends on its
ratification by the parliament," he pointed out.
Araghchi said that countries such as Russia want this convention
to be implemented immediately.
The minister noted that the issue of Iran's share in the sea is
not raised in the said convention. This issue is subject to
discussions in bilateral and trilateral formats.
The Caspian Sea is approximately 1,200 km long, with a maximum
width of 466 km and a minimum width of 204 km. The length of the
sea's coastline is approximately 6,380 km. There are 5 littoral
countries around the sea - Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan,
Kazakhstan, and Russia.
On August 12, 2018, at the 5th summit of the Caspian littoral
countries (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan)
in Aktau, Kazakhstan, the heads of state signed a convention on the
legal status of the Caspian Sea. Although the convention has been
ratified by the parliaments of 4 countries, it has not yet been
ratified by the Iranian parliament.
The share of countries in the convention on the legal status of
the Caspian Sea is intended to be resolved within the framework of
a bilateral agreement between the countries.
