Caspian countries promise to act upon consensual principles

The five Caspian countries issued a joint communique on Monday, promising to act in accord with consensual principles reached at the fourth Caspian Summit in the Russian city of Astrakhan.

"We have agreed on a political statement that for the first time lays down basic principles of the five-party cooperation in the Caspian region, which are in long-term interests of all sides, " Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Those principles cover national marine sovereignty, balance of armaments and military development in the Caspian Sea, as well as the non-infliction of damage on one another's security.

 "We appreciate our partners' readiness to search for necessary and mutually acceptable compromises," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Putin as saying.

The participants also agreed on the principles of mutual trust and transparency in military activities in accordance with "common efforts to strengthen regional security and stability."

The five presidents of the Caspian littoral states of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan promised to make efforts for the Caspian Sea to be used "for peaceful purposes only" and "to make it a zone of peace, good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation."

Putin also announced the plan to conduct joint exercises of the rapid-response emergency services of Caspian Sea countries in 2016.

The five countries have been divided over the legal status of the sea. According to Putin, relevant conventions could be signed at the next summit of the five countries hosted by Kazakhstan.

The first Caspian Summit took place in 2002 in Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan. In November 2003, the Caspian countries signed a framework convention for the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea.

(Xinhua)

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