The Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is a treaty signed in
Aktau, Kazakhstan, on 12 August 2018 by the presidents of
Russia,
Kazakhstan,
Azerbaijan,
Iran and
Turkmenistan.
History
A dispute began after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991, because while the
Soviet Union (and subsequently Russia) and
Iran kept in force their mutual
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
and
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
*January ...
treaties, the new nations of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan felt those treaties did not address the exploitation of the seabed, and thus a new
UNCLOS
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...
treaty was necessary.
Due to the presence of numerous
oil fields on the seabed of the Caspian Sea the question of legal status was very important; some countries even tried to develop fields in disputed regions, almost causing military incidents.
In order to elaborate a Convention on the legal status of the
Caspian Sea, a special working group at the level of deputy foreign ministers was established in 1996 by the Caspian states. Negotiation of the document lasted more than 20 years before its signing on 12 August 2018 by the heads of five Caspian states at the summit in Kazakhstan. During the years of approval of the convention (1996–2018) between the parties were held 51 meetings of the special working groups, more than ten meetings of foreign ministers and four presidential summits in 2002 in
Ashgabat, in 2007 in
Tehran, in 2010 in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
and in 2014 in
Astrakhan.
The convention grants jurisdiction over of territorial waters to each neighboring country, plus an additional of exclusive fishing rights on the surface, the body of water is divided between the parties and each section belongs to the sovereignty of the respected party. No part of this body of water is considered
international waters in the treaty as the five countries enclosing the body of water agreed to extend their borders beyond their coastlines.
“The sovereignty of each Party shall extend beyond its land territory and internal waters to the adjacent sea belt called territorial waters, as well as to the seabed and subsoil thereof, and the airspace over it.”
Gallery
Пятый каспийский саммит · 8.jpg, Fifth Caspian Summit where the Convention was signed
Пятый каспийский саммит · 14.jpg, President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the summit
References
{{Reflist
2018 treaties
Caspian Sea
2018 in international relations
Treaties of Azerbaijan
Treaties of Iran
Treaties of Kazakhstan
Treaties of Russia
Treaties of Turkmenistan
August 2018 events in Asia