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Table of Contents
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
- Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan – all bordering the Caspian Sea – have agreed in principle on how to divide it up.
BASICS
- Their leaders signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea in the Kazakh city of Aktau
- It establishes a formula for dividing up its resources and prevents other powers from setting up a military presence there.
- It is an important step in the easing of regional tensions, but the deal over the world’s largest inland body of water matters for several reasons.
NOTES
- Their leaders signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea in the Kazakh city of Aktau on Sunday.
- It establishes a formula for dividing up its resources and prevents other powers from setting up a military presence there.
- It is an important step in the easing of regional tensions, but the deal over the world’s largest inland body of water matters for several reasons.
HISTORY
- It would be reasonable to assume that the Caspian Sea is, well, a sea. But at the heart of this long-running dispute is whether or not the 370,000 sq km (143,000 sq mile) body of landlocked water should be considered a lake.
- Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991, that’s what it was known as and shared between the USSR and Iran.
- But the arrival on the scene of new countries complicated this issue, with ensuing claim and counterclaim.
- Iran had argued it was a lake and not a sea, but none of the four other countries agreed.
WHY IS THE DIFFERENCE SO IMPORTANT?
- If it was treated as a sea, then it would be covered by international maritime law, namely the United Nations Law of the Sea.
- This binding document sets rules on how countries can use the world’s oceans. It covers areas such as the management of natural resources, territorial rights, and the environment. And it is not limited to littoral states, meaning others can seek access to its resources.
- But if it is defined as a lake, then it would have to be divided equally between all five countries.
NOTES
NOTES
- Sunday’s agreement goes some way to settling this dispute.
- The signed convention gives the body of water a “special legal status” which means it is not defined as a sea or a lake, Russian officials said.
- The surface water will be in common usage, meaning freedom of access for all littoral states beyond territorial waters.
- But the seabed – which is rich in natural resources – will be divided up.
RICH IN OIL AND GAS
- The Caspian Sea is highly-prized for its vast oil and gas reserves.
- It’s estimated there are 50 billion barrels of oil and nearly 300 trillion cubic feet (8.4 trillion cubic metres) of natural gas beneath its seabed.
- That is why disagreements over how to divide some of its huge oil and gas fields have been numerous – and acrimonious. On occasion, warships have been deployed to scare off contractors hired by rival countries.
- The disagreement over its legal status has also prevented a natural gas pipeline being built across the Caspian between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
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