Last update: March 29, 2024 01:04

Newsroom logo

After 20 Years Of Debate, Caspian Littoral States Reach An Agreement

By Orkhan Jalilov August 14, 2018

None

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguli Berdimuhammedov pose for a family photo during the 5th summit of the leaders of Caspian Sea littoral states in Aktau, Kazakhstan on August 12, 2018. / Yujanka.kz

The five countries surrounding the Caspian Sea – Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan – have signed an agreement on the legal status of what is the world’s largest body of enclosed water, after more than two decades of disagreement and debate.

The presidents of all five littoral states – countries that border a major body of enclosed water – met in Aktau, Kazakhstan on August 12 to agree in principle how to divide up what is a treasure trove of energy resources, particularly natural gas and oil. The agreement, known as the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, allows for countries to launch new exploratory projects, to tap into those resources, and prohibits any country for granting space for foreign military use.

The convention gives the body of water a "special legal status," which means it is not defined officially as a sea or a lake. The surface water is designated for common usage, meaning all littoral states can access the sea’s waters beyond each state’s territory. The seabed, however, is to be divided between the littoral states on the principles of international law, which will require additional agreements.

According to the convention, 15 nautical miles from each country’s coastline will be regarded as part of that country. Internal and territorial waters, fishing zones and common water area are all spelled out in the agreement, along with “neutral zones” that are open for common use.

According to estimates there are 48 billion barrels of oil and 292 trillion cubic feet (8.4 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas in proven offshore reserves, beneath the Caspian seabed. Important pipelines have been constructed to carry Caspian oil and gas and they connect the Central Asia and the Caucasus with the Mediterranean.

“The signing of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is a historic document. At all stages of preparation of this document, Azerbaijan worked constructively and made its contribution alongside other Caspian littoral countries to prepare it for signing,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said while addressing the summit. President Aliyev described the Caspian Sea as a sea of “security and stability.”

“The East-West corridor within which Azerbaijan provides transit services to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and the North-South corridor through which Azerbaijan transits cargoes between Iran and Russia are projects that strengthen economic cooperation, create new jobs, bring our countries even closer together and contribute to the strengthening of stability and security.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on his counterparts to focus on the development of the digital economy.

"Russia calls on the Caspian littoral states to focus on cooperation in the sphere of digital economy, to introduce information and communications technologies and electronic commerce, to digitalize foreign trade operations, the shipments and logistics sectors," the Russian Pravda.ru cited President Putin as saying.

Russia is planning to build a deep-water port near Kaspiysk by 2025. The port will be capable of handling heavy-duty vessels with a payload of 15,000-25,000 tons.

In 1970 a decision was made to divide the Caspian Sea into subsectors for what were then the Soviet republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. Division was to be implemented on the basis of an internationally accepted median line. But after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the new regional order required a new framework.

Following the signing of the convention on Sunday, Iranian social media users have accused the government in Tehran of "selling off" the Caspian Sea. Iran may in fact, however, benefit from the new arrangement.

“The signed convention does not resolve the problem of division of the seabed of Caspian Sea among littoral states,” wrote Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas Research Center in Baku, to his Facebook account on August 12. “The bottom of the Caspian Sea should be divided between the coastal states on the principles of international law and the relevant agreements should be signed.”

“The biggest problem of Azerbaijan is the seabed of the Caspian Sea,” Shahinoglu went on to explain. “Azerbaijan has bilateral agreements on the division of seabed of the Caspian Sea with Kazakhstan and Russia. However, there is no such agreement with Turkmenistan and Iran. Because Ashgabat and Tehran want big shares from the seabed of the Caspian Sea.”