Turkmenistan on Thursday called for an end to all foreign exploration in an oil-rich area of the Caspian sea it disputes with Azerbaijan after talks over the issue fell apart Thursday. Two days of negotiations aimed at defining a boundary in the resource-rich Caspian sea dividing the two former Soviet republics "reached a total deadlock" because of the attitude of Baku, the Turkmen foreign ministry asserted in a press release. "Turkmenistan calls on Azerbaijan to cease all activities linked to researching and exploiting of oil resources in the disputed zone of the Caspian," the statement said. Moves by Russia and Iran to put the issue on the back burner have prompted some analysts to speculate that the two countries may wish to use a prolonged disagreement over the Caspian's legal status as a tactic to prevent the construction of US-backed oil and gas pipelines. (AFP)