A new scandal seems to be in the making between the two Caspian littoral countries of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The key theme of the contradictions remains the status of the Caspian Sea, especially some disputable oil fields there. The confusion regarding the Caspian's status has become the main reason for diplomatic tensions between Baku and Ashgabad. On May 5, Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan talks on the Caspian Sea on the experts' level finished in the capital of Turkmenistan. Khalaf Khalafov, chairman of the Azerbaijan delegation and deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, says the position of Azerbaijan conforms to the norms of International Law, promoting the drawing of a median line according to the principle of points of equidistance. However, Ashgabad insists on dividing the sea according to the principle of granting 20 % of the bottom as well as water to each country. The results of these talks made it clear that Turkmen experts, conducting consultation with the Azerbaijani side behind closed doors, were unsatisfied with the position of Azerbaijan. According to the results of the talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan produced an official note to the chair of the Azerbaijan delegation. It is stated in the note that the current talks failed to reach results. Ashgabad blames this on the "non-constructive" position of Baku. "Such a position of Azerbaijan, not considering the necessity of developing a mutually acceptable solution, brings the process of talks to a dead end", according to the document. Besides, Turkmenistan calls on the Azerbaijani Republic "to stop all work related to the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons as well as seismic explorations in the deposits of hydrocarbons located in the disputable areas between the Azerbaijani and Turkmenistani territories of the Caspian Sea until the matter of defining the middle line is settled". It should be noted that Turkmenistan regards the Azeri, Chirag and Kapaz fields as its own. In the Turkmen version they are called Osman, Khazar and Serdar. A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan says that Ashgabad offers to engage international experts in defining the middle line, and has a right to turn to the International Arbitration Court and relevant international organizations for settling disputes in case of the illegal exploitation of disputable territories. According to official Baku, however, "the Note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan has no legal basis in International Law" - according to senior deputy prime minister Abbas Abbasov. Abbasov stated that the Turkmen side's position on this matter proceeds from narrow self-interest: "Other littoral countries cannot waive their own interests in order to please the ambitions of Ashgabad". Azerbaijan has already signed agreements, protocols and declarations with Russia and Kazakstan on the bottom of Caspian Sea, and the "requirements Turkmenistan puts forward have no reasonable basis", according to Abbasov. As to the threats concerning the International Court, Abbaov says that since the position of Turkmen side does not meet the norms and regulations of international law, it will not obtain the support of arbitration. By this time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakstan had come forward with an initiative to sign a bilateral contract with Azerbaijan on the demarcation of the bottom of Caspian Sea through a modified middle line. According to the Turan news agency, governmental sources of Kazakstan, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakstan Erlan Idrisov, directed a relevant offer to the Prime Minister of the state Kasimjomart Tokaev.

According to Tehran television, the spiritual leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech in Enzeli City, noted that Tehran would not recognize any bilateral agreements of littoral states concerning the legal status of Caspian Sea. "We will not allow any foreign country to establish its influence in Caspian Sea by agreement with one of the littoral states. According to International Law, only littoral states can define the legal status of Caspian Sea, but this cannot be done through bilateral agreements," said Ayatollah Khamenei. According to the Baku newspaper "Ekho", the working meeting of the experts of the littoral states is planned to be held on May 15-16 to attempt to settle some disputed matters regarding the definition of the legal status of Caspian Sea.

By Gulnara Ismayilova and Nailia Sohbetqizi