Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope that the Iranian parliament will soon ratify the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
"As for the Caspian Sea and preparing the ground for foreign states to interfere in the Caspian region, we have repeatedly stressed to our interlocutors and our friends today the need to ensure the entry of the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which directly prohibits the presence of military forces of any non-Caspian states in the Caspian Sea into force as soon as possible. The convention will enter into force as soon as the last instrument of ratification arrives," the minister said at a press conference with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
"The issue is now being considered in the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I hope the decision on ratification will be made quickly and then the convention will become an international legal document, providing the appropriate regime in the Caspian Sea," Lavrov said.
The heads of the Caspian five countries signed the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea in Aktau, Kazakhstan, in August 2018, a historic document for the region that has been worked on for more than 20 years, since 1996. The presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed the convention. The document secures to the five states exclusive and perfect rights to the Caspian Sea, responsible development and use of its subsoil and other resources.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti