SECOND SUMMIT OF CASPIAN SEA LITTORAL STATES OPENS IN TEHRAN
The second summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states attended by Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan started with verses from the Holy Qur’an at Tehran’s Sadabad Palace on Tuesday. Opening address was made by host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first suggested commemorating late Presidents Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Saparmurad Niyazov of Turkmenistan.
The Iranian leader said quite a number of issues have been agreed upon since the first summit, noting, however, that talks on some important points related to the Caspian legal status are continuing. He also suggested conducting regular meetings at the heads of state and foreign ministers level in accordance with prearranged schedule.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the summit.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said “this gathering opens up a new stage for cooperation”
He noted the Caspian Sea`s legal status must be defined in a way serving the interests of all sides.
Nazarbayev stressed the necessity to sign five-party agreements and review other existing documents regarding the Caspian`s ecological problems.
The Kazakh leader said though the Caspian Sea was formerly divided by Iran and the USSR, today there are five independent states.
Nursultan Nazarbayev also stressed the five states need to set up a military force to ensure security in the Caspian Sea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is for continuation of the dialogue.
Putin stressed the importance of the Declaration to be signed at the end of the Tehran summit.
The Russian leader said such meetings will open up new opportunities for enhancing cooperation and partnership in solving the Caspian`s problems.
Vladimir Putin also noted that he and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev share a common idea of preserving the Caspian Sea`s ecology.
Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov stressed the importance of the summit.
The leaders of Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a trilateral agreement on construction of a railroad.
Afterwards, the Presidents of the Caspian littoral states held a joint press conference.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the document for the fist time signed by leaders of the five littoral countries is of great importance in terms of deepening relations among them. He announced that next summer Russia would host a conference on economic cooperation among the Caspian littoral states.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also announced that at the suggestion of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the third summit of the Caspian littoral states will be held in Baku. He said that from now on, heads of the Caspian littoral states will meet once, and their foreign ministers twice a year - once in six month.
President Ahmadinejad thanked his counterparts for fruitful talks and praised their role in organizing the event. In his words, the Caspian Sea should be used for peaceful purposes and cooperation.
On his country’s nuclear program, he said it is being implemented in cooperation with IAEA.
After that, the Iranian President responded to questions from journalists.
President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Iranian counterpart for excellent organization of the summit, noting the talks had been held in the atmosphere of mutual understanding. He said that all the issues discussed had found their reflection in the Declaration, and expressed Azerbaijan’s great interest in North-South corridor.
Other leaders also pointed out the importance of this document stressing the necessity of using the Caspian Sea for security and economic cooperation purposes. They also noted that the Tehran Declaration would play a key role in finding consensus-based solutions to the issues.
Following the press conference President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hosted an official dinner in honor of the heads of state.
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