MOSCOW, April 22, 18:23 /ITAR-TASS/. The foreign ministers of the five Caspian littoral states - Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan - have approved a large number of principles that will provide the basis for a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Russia’s top diplomat said.

“These are the delimitation of maritime spaces and measures to save the population of sturgeons as an endangered species,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a ministerial conference on Tuesday.

“The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of equality and common interests,” he said.

“We discussed preparations for the 4th Caspian summit to be held in Russia (in Astrakhan) this autumn. Considerable progress was achieved in the work on the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea,” “We’ll announce the concrete date of the summit in due time,” Lavrov said.

“Several documents, including a document on the key principles for the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, will be ready for the summit,” Lavrov said.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed and “partially solved” issues related to the delimitation of water areas “taking into account the agreements that were reached at the five-party talks on the delimitation of the seabed”, he said.

“During today’s discussions, we reiterated that the five Caspian states are responsible for the situation in the region,” Lavrov said.

“This is primarily related to the events in the region, to security issues and to the norms that our states are guided by,” he said.

“We are ready for cooperation with non-region states in compliance with the ‘Caspian Five’ rules and principles,” Lavrov said.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said the Caspian Sea should remain “a sea of friendship” and be used for prosperity of the region’s countries.

“Every littoral Caspian state has its own understanding and develops different projects, including in the energy sector,” he said.

“Our priority is to prepare the summit in Astrakhan and ensure that the Caspian Sea remains a sea of friendship and cooperation and works for the prosperity of people in the Caspian region,” Mamedyarov said.