Caspian legal convention guarantees maritime security: Iran official

TEHRAN (Defapress)-Based on the Caspian Sea legal regime convention, agreed by the five littoral countries on August 12, no country except the littoral states will be allowed to have military presence in the region, Parvin Farshchi, Deputy Head of Iran's Department of Environment for Marine Environment Division Affairs, said.

Elaborating on the Convention, Farshchi said the legal regime is, on the one hand, to focus on the economic cooperation and the preservation of environment in order to make use of sea creatures, and on the other hand, to provide security for the Caspian Sea region.

About Iran's stance on the Sea, she said the country started its activities in 1988, and has played an important role in that area, Farshchi added.

Iran has always tried to have active presence in all regional meetings, which included issues related to environment and the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, she said.

Since separation of the Soviet Union in 1991, Iran has endeavored to attend all the Caspian Sea meetings, she concluded.

About three weeks ago, heads of five Caspian littoral state- Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan- in a joint statement announced that the Caspian Sea is the sea of peace, good neighborliness and effective international cooperation.

The statement referred to a decision by the five heads of state to devise a mechanism for regular five-party consultation, led by foreign ministries of the sides at the level of deputies foreign ministers and representatives of the Caspian states, to ensure effective implementation of the Caspian conventions and investigate various dimensions of cooperation in the sea.

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