Khalaf Khalafov: Talks on disputable deposits in Caspian Sea not effective yet

Baku. 6 December. REPORT.AZ/ "The draft Convention on Legal Status of the Caspian Sea reflects the principles of full sectoral division”.

Report informs, Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told reporters, commenting on results of the 7th meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states in Moscow, December 5.

Notably, following the meeting, foreign ministers succeeded in actually completing the preparation of the text of Convention on Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, the work on which was conducted for almost 20 years.

According to him, the draft "creates a legal framework in which we will sign documents separately with Iran and Turkmenistan”.

"Talks on disputable deposits are not yet effective, so we do not talk about it yet and the main topic is delimitation with Iran and Turkmenistan. In the future, issue of their exploitation will be solved on the basis of international law. Concerning the water space, in this Convention everything is clearly stipulated and there will be 5-party agreements”, Khalafov said.

"The division will occur between a number of standing and opposing countries, but this is a matter for negotiations of these countries. It will be divided into sectors - there will not be a common zone and parties will agree on issue of construction of gas pipelines and other facilities by sectors in which they will pass”, Deputy FM added.