Khatami stressed that "the life in the Caspian Sea could only be guaranteed under the cooperation and understanding among the five coastal states."

He described Tehran-Ashkhabad stances on the Caspian Sea as "close" and reiterated the need for "a just and collective agreement" among the littoral states in order to avoid "interference" and "mischief" by aliens in the region.

Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan form the five littoral countries of the Caspian Sea.

The Iranian president also invited Tehran and Ashkhabad to strive for the strengthening of their bilateral relations and establishment of peace and tranquility in the region.

Khatami hoped the upcoming summit of the heads of the states of the Caspian Sea in Ashkhabad would "be an important step in accelerating the settlement of the problems in the region and toward reaching an understanding."

He hoped negotiations on the exploitation of resources of the sea in the next summit to be held "under equal conditions and free of any pressures on a particular country."

Niyazov, for his part, said that the success of the summit would depend on the exercise of mutual respect by the coastal states.

He also called for strengthening of Tehran-Ashkhabad ties in all fields.

The Caspian Sea came to the brink of a short spat recently after Iran protested to Azeri oil prospecting in an Iranian section.

The feud, however, eased up after Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi called for "dialogue" over the issue and Azeri President Heydar Aliyev made conciliatory statements, informing of his imminent trip to Tehran.

Iran calls for a condominium or common sovereignty over the sea and has made it known that it considers any unilateral deals for energy explorations in the Caspian Sea as null and void, before the issue of legal regime of the inland waters is settled.

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.

The states have still to come up with a legal regime for the exploitation of the sea's probable hydrocarbon resources.

Iran believes that agreements reached between Iran and Russia in 1921 and 1940 are the most suitable precedents for deciding on a legal regime.

The coastal states of the sea have postponed several scheduled meetings on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea. The last scheduled for early March was postponed to a later date.

... Payvand News - 8/23/01 ... --