Russia for dividing Caspian surface

Russian State Fisheries Committee chairman Yevgeni Nazdratenko thinks it reasonable to divide the Caspian sea "basing on its surface, not on hydrocarbon-containing substances," i.e., the bottom. He voiced this opinion during a Friday press conference hosted by RIA Novosti.

Nazdratenko assumes that, Russia and Iran's determination provided, other Caspian states "will have no option but to join so we'll sign the agreement, in about ten years maybe." The chairman said that Turkmenistan is the worst problem for solving the Caspian division problem as it "is prone to no treaties" in the region.

Nazdratenko also drew journalists' attention to the problem of poaching in the Caspian basin.

He said that fishing police have confiscated 500 kilometres of poachers' nets. The poachers "have climbed up to the Volga dam already," complained Nazdratenko.