Tehran To Host 9th Seminar On Caspian Region Problems

The 9th international seminar on problems of the Caspian region opens in Tehran on Saturday, December 22. The event has gathered foreign ministry officials from the five Caspian states -- Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, as well as scientists, experts and diplomats from different countries. Russia will be represented by Russian deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Kalyuzhny, who has already arrived in Tehran. The Caspian region is strategically important from a geopolitical point of view, but the unsettled legal status of the Caspian Sea poses an obstacle to cooperation between coastal states. With that in mind, participants in the seminar, which ends on December 23, intend to try and work out a compromise to reconcile the differences between Caspian states. (baz/iya) 22/12/01 09:52