Caspian States Resume Talks on Sea Division
Caspian States Resume Talks on Sea Division
A working group of the five Caspian states gathered in the Kazak capital Astana on December 23 to draft a major new document that would resolve the legal dispute about how much of the sea each of them owns.
Turkmenistan, Kazakstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran will be represented by deputy foreign ministers, who will discuss a convention that would end the long-running dispute. To date, they have only managed to reach general agreements regarding the use of mineral reserves under the sea and environmental regulation.
The littoral states have differing interests which shape the kind of division they would like to see in a final agreement.
Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Russia favour a division that would use a median line running roughly north to south through the Caspian, with the waters on either side split into national sectors. This arrangement would best suit the oilfields to which they – and Azerbaijan in particular – lay claim.
By contrast, Iran has always pressed for a straight division into five equal segments, giving it a larger share than its relatively short shoreline would otherwise merit.
Finally, Turkmenistan’s position has shifted over the years, at one point coming close to the Iranian view. Currently, however, it appears to favour the Azeri-Russian-Kazak idea of national sectors, as long as maritime boundaries take into account how close a given oilfield lies to each country’s shoreline.
The dispute has obstructed some energy projects in the Caspian, for example a plan to lay a pipeline under the sea to bring Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan, where it would enter the planned Nabucco pipeline running via Georgia and Turkey to Europe, bypassing Russia entirely.
NBCentralAsia analysts say that as Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have improved their relationship recently, both are likely to take a softer line on demarcation issues. But this will not be enough to bring about a final resolution to the Caspian dispute any time soon, as Iran will continue to hold out for its demands.
An economist in Ashgabat believes the Astana meeting will result in a package of agreements, for example on security arrangements in the Caspian, which might include a ban on external military forces deploying in the region.
Turkmenistan, Kazakstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran will be represented by deputy foreign ministers, who will discuss a convention that would end the long-running dispute. To date, they have only managed to reach general agreements regarding the use of mineral reserves under the sea and environmental regulation.
The littoral states have differing interests which shape the kind of division they would like to see in a final agreement.
Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Russia favour a division that would use a median line running roughly north to south through the Caspian, with the waters on either side split into national sectors. This arrangement would best suit the oilfields to which they – and Azerbaijan in particular – lay claim.
By contrast, Iran has always pressed for a straight division into five equal segments, giving it a larger share than its relatively short shoreline would otherwise merit.
Finally, Turkmenistan’s position has shifted over the years, at one point coming close to the Iranian view. Currently, however, it appears to favour the Azeri-Russian-Kazak idea of national sectors, as long as maritime boundaries take into account how close a given oilfield lies to each country’s shoreline.
The dispute has obstructed some energy projects in the Caspian, for example a plan to lay a pipeline under the sea to bring Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan, where it would enter the planned Nabucco pipeline running via Georgia and Turkey to Europe, bypassing Russia entirely.
NBCentralAsia analysts say that as Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have improved their relationship recently, both are likely to take a softer line on demarcation issues. But this will not be enough to bring about a final resolution to the Caspian dispute any time soon, as Iran will continue to hold out for its demands.
An economist in Ashgabat believes the Astana meeting will result in a package of agreements, for example on security arrangements in the Caspian, which might include a ban on external military forces deploying in the region.
