Caspian states say they do not want military presence of non-Caspian nations
ASTRAKHAN, Russia. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The five Caspian states have warned they will not accept the military presence of non-Caspian nations in the region.
The presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan said in a joint statement issued at a meeting in Astrakhan on Monday that the five nations would base their activities in the region on principles approved by all of them, including "stable balance of armaments in the Caspian Sea, military development within the limits of reasonable sufficiency and with the interests of all the parties being taken into account, and the non-infliction of damage on one another's security."
The five countries reaffirmed a pledge to take "coordinated confidence-building measures in the military sphere in the spirit of predictability and transparency, and in keeping with joint efforts to strengthen regional security and stability."
They insisted on the "non-presence in the Caspian Sea of armed forces that do not belong to the parties."
The five nations pledged to respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, to cooperate with one another, not to interfere in each other's internal affairs, and not to use or threaten force against one another. They declared themselves to be equal to each other.
They promised to make efforts for the Caspian to be used for "for peaceful purposes only" and "to make it a zone of peace, good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation." They insisted that "all problems relating to the Caspian Sea be tackled by non-violent means."