The capital of Turkmenistan on Wednesday hosts the sixth Caspian Summit. In addition to representatives of Ashgabat itself, it will be attended by leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Kazakhstan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive for the meeting of the "five" from Tajikistan, which he visited the day before.
At the summit, the heads of states will exchange views on a wide range of issues concerning interaction in the Caspian region. It is expected that they will pay special attention to the topics of economic cooperation, given that the region has great potential in terms of minerals, marine living resources, as well as in the areas of tourism and transport.
Environmental issues are also on the agenda. The work in this sphere is carried out on the basis of the Tehran Convention of 2003 aimed at environmental protection of the Caspian Sea from possible sources of pollution, as well as preservation, restoration and protection of the marine environment. In addition, the parties regularly hold conferences and expert meetings on the subject.
At the forthcoming summit, the leaders are planning two meetings: in a narrow and enlarged format respectively. At the second meeting the Russian delegation will be present, including Yuri Ushakov, Advisor to the President, Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Peskov, Press-Secretary of President of Russia, Igor Babushkin, Governor of Astrakhan Region, and Andrei Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
It is planned that following the discussion, the leaders will adopt a communiqué of the sixth Caspian Summit, which will set out agreed positions on the further development of cooperation.
Peaceful development of the Caspian Sea
The participants of the five countries are also expected to confirm the strategic nature of multilateral cooperation and, most importantly, their adherence to the principles of cooperation fixed in the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.
This fundamental document stipulates the sovereign rights of coastal countries over the reservoir and its resources, the exclusive competence of such states to solve all issues related to the Caspian Sea, as well as a provision on the non-representation of extra-regional armed forces in the Caspian Sea.
According to the parties, implementation of these agreements is a guarantee of using the Caspian Sea for peaceful purposes, strengthening stability and security of the region, its welfare and sustainable development.
According to Ushakov, Moscow considers the soonest possible entry into force of the convention important. Now it is ratified by all countries except Iran. According to the Kremlin representative, Russia conducts intensive work on this issue with Iranian colleagues, touching upon it "practically in all high-level contacts.
Atmosphere of friendship
Ushakov pointed out that thanks to the collective efforts of all littoral states, the Caspian region is characterized by stable, conflict-free development, and a very high level of trust and mutual understanding is maintained between neighbors. "And in general, there is an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation in the Caspian Sea," he stated.
Now Moscow wants to increase trade and strengthen cooperation with Caspian countries, as well as to turn the region into one of the most effective hubs of transcontinental transport routes. In this context, the development of the North-South international transport corridor is considered promising. There are also opportunities for developing tourism, first of all, maritime, medical, balneological and historical tourism.
With this in mind, it is planned to develop cooperation between the Caspian countries through various formats. Thus, in October 2022 the "five" states intend to hold the second Caspian Economic Forum, it will be hosted by Russia. The first such event was held in 2019 in Turkmenistan. A new meeting in 2021, as originally planned, was interrupted by the pandemic.
The tradition of the Caspian Summit dates back much earlier: the first meeting was held in 2002, when Ashgabat hosted the event. The second meeting was held in 2007 in Tehran, and the third one was held in Baku in 2010. The fourth summit was hosted by Astrakhan in 2014, and the fifth is in Aktau in 2018.
Separate and general meetings
Several bilateral meetings will also take place on the sidelines of the summit. So, soon after his arrival, Putin will go to congratulate Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the former president and current speaker of the upper house of parliament of Turkmenistan, on his 65th birthday. They are expected to touch upon both " celebratory" and working topics. Later, the Russian leader will have a brief conversation with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
These meetings will take place before the Caspian summit, and at the end of the summit Putin will also talk separately with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Iran - Ilham Aliyev and Ebrahim Raisi.
In addition, after the meetings, the leaders will gather for a reception in their honor on behalf of the president of Turkmenistan.
Program of the visit
Putin is scheduled to arrive in Ashgabat in the morning of June 29. The day before, the Russian leader held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in the capital of Tajikistan.
After the events in Ashgabat, Putin will return to Moscow: in the Russian capital on Thursday, he is scheduled to hold talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
This is Putin's first trip this year to a face-to-face multilateral summit, and his second foreign visit overall. In February of this year, he visited China, where the Olympic and Paralympic Games were held. The Russian president last visited Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in 2019.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS