"Russia still opposes partition of Caspian Sea into national sectors"

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov confirmed his country’s constant position opposing the partition of the Caspian Sea Basin among its littoral states.

"Russia has always considered the Caspian Sea as a unique landlocked basin and opposes its division into national sectors, as this would require a radical revision of economic regime uses prevailing over the past 70 years," Ivanov said at a meeting of the Maritime Board (Morskaya Kollegiya) of the Russian Government in Astrakhan, ITAR-TASS reported.

Russia believes that certain types of Caspian resources, for example aquatic resources, are indivisible and require a coordinated policy on conservation by all coastal states.

Ivanov named as among the general issues ensuring the safety of navigation, environmental protection and ecology; especially in the prevention of accidental oil spills in the offshore development of the sea.

Russia has already managed to solve the problem of delimitation of the Caspian seabed by signing agreements with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. This work should be continued, he said.


/Trend/