Stalling Caspian delimitation to Turkmen-Azeri

Tuesday, 12 January 2010 06:52

The protracted delimitation of the Caspian Sea cannot affect the Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan relations that are strengthening by the day, Turkmen ambassador in Baku Annamammad Mammadov has said.
Speaking to a news conference Friday, Mammadov reminded that an ad hoc taskforce is dealing with the delineation of the basin, and meetings are being held both between the two countries and among all the five coastal nations.
“Turkmenistan supports a solution of this issue in a civilized manner and based on international law.
“The core issue is protecting and strengthening the friendly and fraternal relations between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan,” the ambassador said.
Mammadov noted that Ashgabat may appeal to the international court of arbitration to hammer out its differences with the South Caucasus republic. He added, however, that for the time being, this decision has not been made and the Turkmen government has merely ordered to review this option.
The coastal nations have been divided for many years on the status of the Caspian, which is a source of huge hydrocarbon reserves and valuable caviar stocks. Azerbaijan has signed agreements on dividing the Caspian into national sectors with Russia and Kazakhstan. However, Baku faces a dispute with Turkmenistan, and Ashgabat has leveled claims to three oil fields in the allegedly disputed section of the Caspian - Azeri, Chirag and Kapaz, which Ashgabat calls Osman, Omar and Sardar. The status issue also remains to be agreed with Iran, which supports division of the seabed into five equal sectors.