Baku, Oct 31, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- The groups of experts of the five Caspian countries on the Caspian legal status will have a meeting on November 19-20 in Baku, Halaf Halafov, the Azeri deputy foreign minister told reporters.

The meeting will aim for the drafting of the general convention on the Caspian legal status, he said.

All proposals of the littoral countries on these problems will be discussed In Baku. Halafov does not think the experts' meeting in Baku will be the last one of this kind. "Experts will go on working until all the aspects of the Caspian legal status are coordinated." Halafov said.

Halafov believes the Russia-Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan, Russia-Azerbaijan agreements on the Caspian are no obstacle but rather aim for reaching the general agreement on the Caspian among the five countries.

He is also convinced that having signed bilateral agreements with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Russia will continue to be an active participant in the negotiating process. "What has been decided about the Caspian bed is not final. There are many other aspects to the problem that still need to be coordinated," Halafov said.

Dwelling on the Russia-Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan trilateral agreement, he said, "This is a technical rather than a political or legal document."

He also said that when there is an opportunity the experts of the three countries would coordinate details of the joint agreement which will then be ready for the signing.

Regarding the Azeri-Iranian dialogue on the Caspian, Halafov said, 'each meeting of the experts of the two countries is a positive step toward arrangements'.

"The negotiating mechanism between Azerbaijan and Iran is a positive factor that will enable us to resolve the problem. There is nothing to hinder consensus on the Caspian," he said.

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