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Caspian Five is very close to settling sea status — Kazakh foreign minister

Meeting of foreign ministers of the ‘Caspian Five’ (Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan) would focus on coordinating the Convention on the Caspian Sea legal status

© Dmitry Nikiforov/ITAR-TASS

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ASTANA, July 13. /TASS/. The issue of coordination of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea will be discussed in detail at a meeting of foreign ministers of the ‘Caspian Five’ (Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan) that opened in the capital of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Erlan Idrissov told reporters.

"The negotiations on the legal status of the Caspian Sea were launched nearly 20 years ago," he said. According to him, now the sides "have closely approached" the solution to this issue.

Idrissov said that the summit in Astrakhan two years ago "was a breakthrough" and fixed a set of principles on the sea activity.

The minister also noted progress in the sphere of ensuring environmental safety of the Caspian Sea. He confirmed that the Caspian Five is preparing interdepartmental protocols on safety issues.

Wednesday’s meeting, he said, would focus on coordinating the Convention on the sea legal status. The foreign minister said the next summit would be held in Astana, and at the current consultations the sides would determine "the agenda and tentative timeframe.".

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