Tabnak – Amid some media and public debates in Iran about the possible “concessions” Iran has granted to its northern neighbor as part of the recent Caspian legal convention, Iranian foreign ministers reiterates that the country has not and will not abandon its rights in the strategically important maritime area.
In this vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed claims that Tehran has ceded a significant part of its territorial rights in the Caspian Sea in a recent treaty with four other littoral states, saying that Tehran has not retreated from its position on this issue.
Speaking to the Persian-language news website Alef, Zarif vehemently rejected claims that in the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, which was recently signed in Kazakhstan, Iran’s share of the sea has reduced from 50 percent to 11 percent.
The top diplomat said such figures are not correct, adding that no shares of the sea have been determined yet other than for Russia and Kazakhstan. Zarif further emphasized that the Iranian administration has not retreated (from its stance) or relinquished its rights to the Caspian Sea.
The remarks came after some media outlets claimed that in the recent treaty, Iran has easily abandoned its share of the Caspian Sea after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Iran, along with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea on Sunday in the port city of Aktau, Kazakhstan.
The convention was aimed at resolving a dispute over the status of the Caspian Sea which dates back several decades, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Prior to that, Moscow and Tehran had signed a series of treaties, the last two of which defined the Caspian as a "Soviet and Iranian sea" but without establishing any maritime boundaries.
The recent Caspian Sea convention has been drawn up in 24 articles with the most important highlights being a ban on military presence of all foreign countries in the sea and transit of military consignments belonging to foreign countries.
The convention emphasizes that the Caspian Sea belongs to all littoral states, prohibiting establishment and handing over of any kind of military bases to foreign countries. The Caspian Sea Legal Regime Convention also puts emphasis on sovereignty and sovereign rights of littoral states while recognizing their right to decide on the sea.
In a speech after signing the convention in the Kazakh city of Aktau, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, "Today, this region has turned into a successful model for guaranteeing peace, stability, friendship, good neighborliness and progress and this summit is another step toward more convergence in the region that needs to be strengthened by taking more steps."
He described the Caspian Sea convention as a major document that monitors all rights and responsibilities of the sea's littoral states and added, "Of course, the formulation of the technical details will be postponed to other separate agreements."
