Tehran, Sept 25, IRNA -- A Majlis deputy and an observer in Caspian Sea negotiations, Elaheh Koulaei, here Wednesday criticized moves by certain littoral states creating a condition of military rivalry among these states with respect to the exploitation of the sea, and warned against such "unwise moves."

Koulaei, in an interview with IRNA, expressed her regret that Russia has taken the new approach of ignoring the concerns of littoral states and encouraging rivalry among such states particularly after the September 11 terror attacks on the US and the failure of the Askhabad summit to arrive at a concensus on the issue.

She pointed to the destruction of the Caspian Sea's eco-system as something which should cause great concern to coastal states and which is further aggravated by Russia's move of conducting war games in the sea.

Koulaei stressed that to confront the unwise moves of certain littoral states, all the states must coordinate efforts toward setting up of an organization of Caspian coastal countries.

Elsewhere in her remarks, the speaker of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said estimates released on the sea's oil and gas reserves have all been influenced by propaganda and are politically motivated.

Koulaei said the estimates have been released to artificially raise the strategic significance of the Caspian sea in order to counter the effects of oil price fluctuations on the industrial world.

She said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US, international oil majors and certain Caspian states have launched a comprehensive propaganda on the sea's oil and gas reserves so as to justify their political and economic policies with respect to the sea.

The Majlis deputy from Tehran also said that prevailing estimates on the Caspian Sea's energy reserves are highly exaggerated, but stressed that the rich resources of the sea, including caviar, are specially important for the economies of the littoral states.

The five littoral states of the Caspian Sea, namely Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, have still to come up with a formula to govern the exploitation of its resources.

In efforts to arrive at a consensus, Iran is calling for application of the condominium concept or principle of common sovereignty, and has warned that it will treat as null and void any unilateral deal to explore the sea's resources before a legal regime is established.

The Islamic Republic believes the 1921 and 1940 agreements between Iran and the Soviet Union are still valid and should be enforced until a new regime is drawn up.

... Payvand News - 9/25/02 ... --