Aliyev, who was responding to questions from journalists about the latest developments in the CAspian sea region which strained relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, stressed that "minor incidents" should not be allowed to evolve into conflicts. He went on to say that the present-day realities being what they are, no country must use force against another country. "These are principles upheld by the United Nations and other international organizations which all ountries must abide by," Aliyev said. He added that Azerbaijan condemns any violence.

The leader of Azerbaijan noted in particular that his country wants to live in peace and friendship with all of its neighbors and will not allow conflicts to break out. He stressed that Azerbaijan"is pursuing a peace-loving policy and has no claims to make with respect to the neighboring countries."

President Aliyev said he would pay an official visit to iran as scheduled, in August.

As regards the Caspian-related contradictions between Azerbaijan and Iran, the head of state declared that the neighboring country was making claims "that run counter to international legal standards." He expressed his country's readiness to continue talks with Turkmenia in order to eliminate all differences.

Alborz main topic of dispute between Iran, Azerbaijan

The oil field occupies more than 1,400 square kilometers of lands in south central part of the Caspian sea.

The field is known in Azerbaijan as Alov, meaning flame in the Azeri language.

Based on a map released by the I.H.S. Energy company of the US, Alborz oil field is nearly like a rectangular, whose short angles meet northeastern and southwestern parts of the region. It shortly meets the Iranian coasts and is 160 kms from Astara north of Iranian province of Gilan.

Baku lies about 170 kms from the field.

Depth of water in the field is 300 to 800 meters and it is believed that the oil reserves are the oil field is 2,500 to 6,500 meters in the Caspian Sea bed.

The debates on the Caspian Sea legal regime expect 20 percent share for Iran in the northern part of the land-locked sea.

Iran's insistence on its 20 percent share in the sea and Azerbaijan's claim that Iran's share is limited to the Astara- Hosseinqoli line represent a triangle inside which the Alborz oil field lies.

According to the internet publication of Azerbaijan, International, Azeri Oil Company singed for the first ever on July 21, 1998, a deal with British Petroleum (BP) and Norwegian Stat Oil company in London for expansion of the oil field as well as the east and Araz fields in the Caspian sea.

In the ceremony marking conclusion of the deal Azeri President Heidar Aliyev and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were present.

Based on the contract each of the British and Norwegian companies would have a 15 percent share and Azerbaijan Oil Company will have 40 percent share of the consortium, thus formed for development of the oil field. No decision was made on the fate of the remaining 30 percent share.

Later, the Exxonmobil, Tapeo and Alberta Energy each gained 15, 10 and five percent of the remaining share gradually.

The deal ruled that by the year 2001, at least three wells should have been drilled in the field.

Two European companies were to invest dlrs 75 million in each phase of the project.

Total amount of investment in the 25-year project was estimated to be about dlrs four billion.

According to Azeri Asa Irada News Agency, a research project, recently launched, was to be completed by the year 2002 and after that measures be adopted to prepare a suitable drilling platform so as to drill the first oil well.

Meanwhile, IRNA said the first measure for expansion of Alborz oil field was adopted by Iran in September 1999 following conclusion of a contract between National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and an Iranian company of Iran Petro Development within framework of the policy for expansion of Alborz Oil Field.

Head of the Caspian Sea Research Institute Abbas Maleki had already accused the Republic of Azerbaijan of taking hasty actions in oil related issues which he blamed for the country's dispute with all its neighbors.

Maleki in an interview with IRNA touched on Azerbaijan's prospecting operation in the Caspian Sea since Monday and said that an oil consortium had resumed operation and this was why the British Petroleum (BP) sent the Azeri Geofizik-3 research vessel to the region.

He said an Iranian warship had ordered the vessel to leave Iranian territorial waters, warning it would use force if she did not heed to the warning. He called Iran's move as ``logical and sound''.

BP and Britain announced that they fully understand Iran's stance, said the official, adding that BP announced that it will suspend its activities in the Caspian Sea as long as Iran does not permits it to do so.

He said that Iran has, since last week, launched wide-scale diplomatic efforts to prevent the Azeri government from dispatching the consortium to the region.

He accused Azerbaijan of adopting a unilateral move in ceding Alborz oil field to an oil consortium in 1998. The filed has five billion barrels of oil and gas reserves.

Britain's biggest company signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Azerbaijan to be granted exploration, development and production rights for what it described as the Alov-Araz-Sharg area of the Caspian in 1998.

Under the terms of the PSA, the consortium, which includes Statoil of Norway, the Azeri state oil company, SOCAR, and BP as the operator, three wells were supposed to be drilled this year with up to an additional five exploratory wells by 2004.

Based on recent dispatches, BP is currently assessing possibilities of continuing the work in the Araz-Alov-Sharg area and is currently consulting its partners to the contract valued at nine billion dollars.

BP is optimistic that a positive resolution of the problem would be reached, and that it believes the issue of the legal status of the Caspian Sea that will determine the share of littoral states in its resources should be solved at intergovernment level.

Iran insists on equal share for each of the five Caspian countries, also including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, thus bidding at least for 20 percent of the oil-rich sea.

Azerbaijan claims, however, that the size of a country's share should depend on the length of its coastal line.

The five littoral states of the sea are scheduled to meet in the Turkmen capital Ashkhabad in October to decide on a legal regime for the waters.

Aliyev to visit Iran in set time

Aliyev is to visit Iran in August at the invitation of President Seyed Mohammad Khatami. In a recent meeting with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rowhani, the Azeri president had said he would come to Iran once the Iranian new cabinet be formed.

Asked whether he will perform a visit to Tehran, he said the visit would be made on scheduled agenda adding that Baku is never willing to see Iran-Azerbaijan strained.

He said Azerbaijan would never allow other countries to interfere in its internal affairs but added that his country would respect the principles of territorial integrity of other states and non-interference in the domestic affairs of others states.

Iran's Ambassador to Baku Ahad Ghazaei called earlier today on Tehran and Baku to resolve all of their differences through dialogue based on principles of friendship and brotherhood. Speaking to reporters prior to his departure for Tehran, the ambassador said the existing relations between the two neighboring countries should develop based on friendship and mutual respect. The two countries are determined to develop mutual relations, he said adding that Tehran welcomes the resolution of the existing problems through dialogue.

A row erupted recently between Iran and Azerbaijan when Azerbaijan proceeded to prospect for the energy-rich spots on the Caspian Sea. The long-standing tension between Iran and Azerbaijan reached a new peak early last week when an Iranian warship trained its guns on an Azeri research vessel searching for oil in a disputed part of the Caspian.

Russia urges Iran, Azerbaijan to settle Caspian dispute

Russia strongly believes that the Caspian Sea should remain the zone of peace, stability, mutual trust and equal cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry press and information department said in a statement received by Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

The Russian side is strongly convinced that all issues related to the Caspian Sea, including the possession of its mineral resources, should be solved exclusively by political means at the negotiation table.

Russia has urged Iran and Azerbaijan to act as good neighbors and to display wisdom and restraint in order to defuse tensions and to find a mutually acceptable and fair solution. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that both sides could count on Russia's support.

The Russian side also stressed that the incident had highlighted the need to work out a new legal status of the Caspian Sea which should provide the basis for using its natural resources, the Ministry's statement said.

Baku to insist on further work in Araz-Alov-Sharg field

Work in the area, located on the Caspian shelf 150 kilometers southeast of Baku, was suspended on July 23 after an Iranian- Azerbaijani incident during which Iran made territorial claims with regard to the Alov structure.

Aliyev said on Wednesday that foreign companies, including British Petroleum which is the Araz, Alov and Sharg development operator, have obligations under this nine-billion-dollar contract.

He also stressed that "Iran's claims to Alov are groundless and illogical", at least because an Iranian oil company is involved in an Azerbaijani energy project to develop the sea block Lenkoran/Talysh-Deniz which is located further down south than Alov-Araz-Sharg and is closer to the Astara-Gasankuli (settlements in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan) dividing line along which the Soviet-Iranian border ran in the Caspian.

Aliyev said that Azerbaijan considers Iran's claims to Alov as a violation of international law and did not rule out that "if force is used again, Azerbaijan will take proper measures".

At the same time, he believes that "we should not overdramatize the incident". Aliyev stressed that all disputes should be settled through talks, and such talks with Iran will be held.