Heads of Caspian Countries to Hold Next Meeting in Tehran

If agreement is reached between all the Caspian countries, the next meeting of the heads of the Caspian Sea states will take place in Teheran.

This is said in the Russian-Iranian statement which was adopted on Tuesday on the results of the negotiations between Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov and the Iranian leadership.

The statement says that in discussing the Caspian problem the sides underscored the importance of "the consensus solution of all the issues concerning the Caspian Sea as a whole" and pointed to the significance of continuing the activity within the framework of the working group at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the five coastal countries in working out an all-embracing convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

The sides underscored that taking into account the unique character of the Caspian Sea, the integrity and importance of its environment, they "pointed to the need for concerted efforts of all the coastal states in preventing the damage to the ecological system of the Caspian Sea and in preserving its biological diversity."