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Ashkhabad, April 24, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday evening reiterated Iran's view that common sovereignty on the Caspian Sea is the best choice for the littoral states and admonished against taking unilateral action on tapping the inland sea's resources.
Speaking on the first day of a two-day summit of the coastal states, held in Ashkhabad, the Iranian president further invited the littoral states, namely Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, to "unanimity, coexistence, dialogue and flexibility."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers maintaining the current legal regime and making joint use and operation as the best choice to finalize the legal status of the Caspian Sea," Khatami told the heads of state of other four coastal countries in a keynote speech.
"The policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Caspian Sea is based on multilateral cooperation, confidence building, lasting peace, attention to the interests of all coastal states and non-militarization of the sea," he added.
Iran has repeatedly made it known that it considers any unilateral deals for energy exploration in the Caspian Sea as null and void before the issue of legal regime of the Caspian is settled.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran respects the independence and integrity of the coastal countries of the Caspian Sea and announces that any agreement on the sea will be valid only if it is approved unanimously by the littoral countries," Khatami said.
"Thus, Iran expects that the (other) coastal states refrain from operating on the 20 percent of the sea which it regards as its minimum share on the bed and the surface in the case of a division," the Iranian president added.
Khatami described the two-tier agreements of 1921 and 1940 between Iran and the former Soviet Union as a "suitable yardstick" to "finalize the Caspian legal regime and attend to new requirements".
The Iranian president also sounded alarm at the "dangerous and worrisome" state of ecology as a result of pollution from oil operations in the Caspian Sea and called on the littoral states to take "urgent measures" in this regard.
Khatami intimated Iran's readiness to promote cooperation on the transfer of the Caspian energy.
"Iran, given its unique geographic position..., is the shortest, most secure and cheapest route for the transfer of the regional energy to the world market," he said.
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