Azerbaijan Ready to Resolve Caspian Sea Dispute

Azerbaijan is preparing for a fresh push to define its portion of the hydrocarbon-rich Caspian Sea, officials in Baku say.

Baku will soon host another summit on the prickly subject of demarcating the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan's Vesti news service reports. All earlier efforts by the littoral states to divide the sea's 78,000 cubic meters of water have fallen flat.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said on July 8 that Russia and Azerbaijan "have reached an understanding on" general principles for how to demarcate the maritime border between the two states, but Baku remains at odds with Iran.

Khalafov spoke at a news conference dedicated to Azerbaijan's border issues.

Under Iran's proposal, each of the five Caspian states -- Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan -- would get a 20-percent slice of the hydrocarbon-rich sea. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have earlier proposed that each state receive a share proportional to their coastline length. Iran dismissed the offer as unfair.

Azerbaijan's border disputes are not limited to matters maritime. Aside from Armenia and the longstanding conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan is also locked in argument with Georgia over the 6th century monastery complex of Davit Gareja, which straddles the Azerbaijani-Georgian border.

Khalafov told APA news agency that there is no agreement in sight on that strip of territory.