Russia opposes Caspian pipeline

"The pipeline represents a serious threat that could question the welfare of the entire region," the Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy Aleksandr Golovin said in conclusion of a joint taskforce meeting of the five Caspian littoral states, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, on Wednesday.

According to AssA-Irada, Golovin stressed that the issue should be solved involving all the littoral states, regardless of what country's waters the pipe will go through.

"The Caspian is a unique basin that must be treated very carefully, including issues dealing with the construction of pipelines."

The Russian official added that his country supports a comprehensive approach that is not confined to one pipeline alone.

The Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said laying of the pipe in the Caspian should not entail any problems. He said the approaches of Azerbaijan and Russia on the issue differ.

The deputy minister mentioned that there is extensive international experience in the area of building such pipes.

Kazakhstan's special envoy Erik Utembayev said all the activities on the Caspian should be in line with the world standards. "I think the requirements should be the same with regard to both technological and trunk pipelines," he said.

The Azeri deputy minister Khalafov, touching upon the unresolved issue of the military delineation of the Caspian, that the absence of outside countries' military forces is a key part of the security issue outlined by the convention on the sea's legal status.

"Our meeting centers around not only the presence or absence of military troops of non-Caspian states. The entire range of security issues is being discussed," Khalafov said.

The Kazakh representative Utembayev, in turn, said that security and military involvement should not be considered separately. "The Caspian should be an area for multi-faceted cooperation."

Utembayev also proposed to develop a pact on stability in the Caspian that would cover all the matters dealing with emerging challenges and threats.

/AzerNEWS/