Ushakov: Caspian summit to formalize water delimitation provisions
MOSCOW. Sept 26 (Interfax) - The leaders of the Caspian littoral states will formalize coordinated provisions on the delimitation of Caspian waters in a statement posted at the Astrakhan summit, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
"As a result of efforts taken by the experts, the presidential statement will include coordinated provisions on the delimitation of waters. There will be two zones - a zone of state sovereignty and an exclusive fishing zone. Both zones will be 25 nautical miles in size," Ushakov told a press briefing on Friday.
"The way these 25 nautical miles will be divided between the two zones is now being discussed. The issue has yet to be coordinated, and we are expecting the foreign ministers will find a final solution at their meeting on Sunday," the presidential aide said.
"It is an essential matter how the so-called baselines, from which the width of the aforementioned zones will be measured, will go," he said.
Iran holds a particular opinion on this subject, Ushakov added. "The issue has yet to be coordinated; there is a problem of incompatibility of determination methods. Four countries adhere to the methods laid down by the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea and Iran declares the intention to measure the width of its national zone from the line which connects the end points of ground borders with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, or the former unspoken Soviet-Iranian border," he explained.
"In other words, it is still necessary to discuss the question of baselines at the summit and coordinate a general approach," Ushakov emphasized.
Russian presidential envoy on the delimitation and demarcation of Russian borders with CIS countries Igor Bratchikov said earlier this week that Russia's position against the division of the Caspian Sea remains unchanged and Russia is against any division.
"Russia does not support the division of the Caspian Sea into any sectors," Bratchikov told a briefing in Moscow.
He reiterated that Russia was initially interested in keeping the regime of the Caspian Sea that existed in accordance with the Russian-Persian and Soviet-Iranian treaties. "Russia has been against dividing the Caspian Sea from the very beginning, saying that we are interested in keeping this regime because it exists in accordance with the said treaties," the diplomat said.
At the same time, Bratchikov said that "bearing in mind the debate that has been going on for many years, Russia has given its consent to the creation of national 25 mile zones in the sea, including sovereignty zones and fishing zones, on which an agreement was reached at the Baku summit."