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Leaders of Caspian states support peace in region, says Kazakh foreign minister

ASTANA, August 14. /TASS/. The president of the Caspian quintet have reaffirmed their commitment to establishing a zone of peace in the region by signing the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov told journalists on Tuesday.

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"First and foremost, by signing the convention, we create a stable and effective base for developing large-scale cooperation between the Caspian states in many areas. Head of our state Nursultan Nazarbayev was not wrong to call it the "constitution" of the Caspian Sea. Through signing this "constitution", our leaders have once again reaffirmed their strong commitment to establishing a zone of peace, security, cooperation, sustainable development in this enormous region," Abdrakhmanov said.

According to him, many countries currently face threats and challenges of a transboundary and transnational kind, fight terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, consequences of natural disasters. "In this context, the meeting in Aktau, as you all have pointed out, was held on a very high and positive level. The presidents of the Caspian states have truly demonstrated that on this planet, there is a region, a zone of peace, security, mutually beneficial cooperation, sustainable development, which can serve as an example for many countries and continents," the foreign minister stressed.

He noted that as Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan would make a significant contribution to the cooperation between Caspian states. "If we add up the potential of Caspian and Central Asian states, we will see that we have an opportunity to become an example of good neighborliness, friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation," the minister concluded.

At the fifth Caspian summit, which took place on August 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Iran Hasan Rouhani, President of Azerbaijan Ilkham Aliyev and President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov inked the document determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Work on the document had continued since 1996, while the five nations’ foreign ministers agreed its draft on December 4-5, 2017 in Moscow.

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