Iranian President Upbeat on Outcomes of Caspian Sea Summit
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is in Astrakhan for the 4th summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states, expressed the hope that the summit would yield “acceptable” results.
Speaking upon arrival at the Russian port city of Astrakhan, President Rouhani said different topics will be discussed with heads of the Caspian Sea littoral state.
"We will have different topics (to discuss) ..., and God willing, we will achieve acceptable results."
At the airport, the president was welcomed by Astrakhan’s local officials and the staff of Iran’s embassy in Moscow.
During his two-day trip to Russia, President Rouhani is scheduled to deliver a speech at the summit and sign related documents.
He also plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and attend an interview with Russia Today satellite television channel.
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed water body on earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea.
The summit plans to discuss a new convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea Convention will determine the territorial rights of littoral states- Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan - as well as other matters related to the world’s largest landlocked body of water.
The Caspian Sea legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1921 and 1940. The three new littoral states, established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, have not recognized the prior treaties, triggering a debate on the future status of the sea.