ASTRAKHAN, May 17. /TASS/. Russia seeks to make the Caspian Sea an example of cooperation rather than confrontation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Caspian Sea meeting.
"We believe that this is one of the most important issues (cooperation with the Caspian Sea bordering countries - TASS) for Russia now, because the Caspian Sea should be an example of cooperation rather than confrontation," the diplomat said. "We are well aware that the situation in the world is unstable, there is some uncertainty. The Caspian Sea should be a positive example." There are all necessary conditions for that, he added.
According to Karasin, the agreements on the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea are within arm’s reach.
"We are now working to formalize an agreement on the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea," he noted. "We hope that this agreement is within arm’s reach."
Karasin noted that settling the legal status of the Caspian Sea is a very delicate process. "Most key issues have been resolved, but there are some things that require additional work," he said. "We will work on them within the framework of the working groups using bilateral contacts for that. We hope that our partners will likewise maintain contacts."
"in a word, one can be optimistic and say that we are on the right track," he emphasized. "The next summit is to be held in Kazakhstan, and we want to draft this important document by that summit."