Russia, Iran Discuss Caspian Sea
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MOSCOW — Russia and Iran pledged Wednesday to strengthen bilateral economic links, especially in the Caspian Sea region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, on a two-day visit to Moscow that will include a meeting today with Prime Minister Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, stressed the need to resolve the vexed issue of the Caspian Sea’s formal status to allow an orderly development of its rich oil and natural gas resources.
“In order to avoid chaos, we must in the near future work out the final status of the Caspian in a way that is mutually acceptable to all sides,” he said.
Iran and Russia have long argued that the Caspian is a lake, not a sea, and therefore under international law is the common property of all adjacent states, which also include the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Moscow and Tehran say all projects should be developed jointly.
The other three nations argue that the Caspian should be divided into national sectors and exploited independently.
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