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Tehran, May 3 - President Mohammad Khatami here Thursday described last week's summit on the Caspian Sea "an important event" as he called on the littoral countries to shut the region to outsiders.
Talking to reporters upon return from a five-nation tour of the Central Asia which he described as "positive", the Iranian President said the summit held in the Turkmen capital Ashkhabad indicated the coastal states' will to settle the existing differe nces over the legal status of the inland sea among themselves.
He said the heads of state of the five littoral countries discussed aspects of their difference and consensus on the sea in a friendly and sincere atmosphere and reiterated the need for further consultations in order to come to a common ground.
"One of the important issues raised up in the summit was that the Caspian Sea belongs to the five coastal countries and that nobody should interfere in the region," Khatami said.
"Most of the regional countries believe that any foreign interference in the region must be avoided," Khatami said, adding the littoral states should show "understanding" and "a fair behavior" towards the materialization of their national rights in the land-locked sea.
The five countries, namely Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan agreed to continue holding regular meetings among their experts and foreign ministry officials and plan for a next summit of their heads of state whenever necessary, he ad ded.
"Since an enduring security, stability and progress in this region guarantee the interests of the coastal states, they should continue their cooperation," the President added.
Khatami stressed the "unique position" of the Caspian Sea, asking the regional countries to attend to its ecology which is being affected by oil prospecting.
"The Caspian Sea does not belong merely to the five coastal countries and issues relating to that have a remarkable effect on the ecology of the region and that of the world," he said.
Khatami hailed his Central Asian tour to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, given their "deep-rooted historical bonds" with Iran and with one another.
"I travelled to a region which has had a strong historical and civil bond with Iran, and they are pillars of a civilization, marked for its grandeur and greatness in the history," he said.
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