TURKMENBASHI /Turkmenistan/, August 12. /TASS/. The recent attacks on civilian merchant vessels and infrastructure facilities in the Caspian Sea are a cause for serious concern, Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in Turkmenistan Pyotr Shchukin said, adding that the Caspian littoral states must jointly prevent any attempts at escalation in the region.

"The recent armed strikes against civilian merchant vessels and infrastructure facilities in the Caspian, which have resulted, among other things, in casualties, are a source of particular and grave concern. These reckless actions set a dangerous precedent, pose serious challenges to regional stability and economic cooperation, threaten the safety of navigation, and carry potential risks for the sea’s fragile ecosystem," he said at the scientific-practical conference "Protection of the Caspian Sea Ecosystem: Regional Cooperation and Sustainable Development."

"We are convinced that any attempts by extra-regional forces to bring geopolitical confrontation and military tension into these historically peaceful waters are aimed at undermining the atmosphere of friendship and mutual trust that has been built up here over decades. In our view, such escalation is absolutely unacceptable and must be firmly countered through the joint efforts of the Caspian littoral states," the diplomat added.