Legal Status Of The Caspian Sea: History And Present

Abstract

At the present stage one of the unsolved problems in interstate relations of Caspian bordering countries is defining international­legal status of the Caspian Sea. It is noted in the article that this problem is not a new one at all. The history of “division” of the Caspian Sea begins in the ancient age, namely in VIII century. It is underlined that the basic stumbling block is the position of Iran on the right to use the Caspian Sea, and also occurrence of extra regional players, such as the USA, China, etc. First of all, it is connected with rich oil fields and other minerals, and also with convenient geopolitical and geostrategic position. The only way to worry out the international­legal delimitation of the Caspian Sea problem is a negotiating process. By now, despite of certain disagreements on legal status of the Caspian Sea, five Caspian bordering countries managed to achieve certain progress, admitting the possibility of applying the principle of sectorial sectioning on the Caspian Sea. Clear proof of it is the agreements on division of ground on the northern part of Caspian Sea signed between Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan. It is important that Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan clearly stated their positions and agreed to make a compromise in their official statements. More than likely, in the near future Iran will soften its position, considering its present situation and strained relations with the USA. It has been alleged that the constructive dialog already started; everything depends on the mobility, concurrency and rationality of actions of all Caspian bordering countries.