Tehran Summit Unites Caspian States on Major Issues

nCa News and Commentary

Ashgabat/Tehran, 16 October 2007 (nCa/Agencies) --- In the second Caspian summit, held Tuesday in Tehran, the littoral states took a united stand on a number of issues facing the region.

The declaration signed at the end of the summit covers a wide range of subjects in its 25 articles. The document virtually binds the littoral states into a non-aggression commitment, warns the outsiders to refrain from using the Caspian region soil for military operations or interfering in any other way, supports the right of Iran to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, and defines perimeters for ecological integrity of Caspian.

The summit provided solid foundation for economic cooperation among the coastal states. The Tehran declaration enshrines the North-South corridor as an integral part of the Caspian summit.

The sides agreed that only the civil and military vessels carrying the flags of the littoral states would have the right to navigate in Caspian.

Addressing the press conference at the end of the summit, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said that general understanding had been reached on all issues. He announced that the Caspian foreign ministers will meet on half yearly basis and the Caspian heads of state will get together for summit meeting every year. The next summit meeting would be held in Baku in October 2008, said Ahmadinejad.

President Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan said, “Our meeting held in Moscow in 1994, in Ashgabat in 2001 gave no result. But we signed declaration this time, and it shows that we are close to agreement. I announce that no issue remained unsolved. He assured that the documents about the legal status of Caspian would be ready by the next summit in Baku.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who had kept the US secretaries of state and defence waiting for more than 45 minutes when they called on him recently, said, “We should not even think of making use of force in this region.”

In order not to leave any doubts, Putin continued, “We must not submit to other states in case of aggression or some other kind of military action directed against one of the Caspian countries.”

“We regard that authority in Caspian only belongs to littoral states. It is also connected with subsoil resources. According to the agreement with Economic Cooperation Organization we have planned to hold conference in Moscow next year. I want to underline especially that all the sides positively assessed issues raised for debate. This process directs us to the agreement,” he said.

President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov of Turkmenistan said, “This summit showed that our positions have become closer. Of course, several issues should be debated and signing of declaration is a step taken for the solution of the problems. The second main issue is the resolution on Turkmenistan-Iran railway; it will bring integration among the three countries. We will achieve exit to Persian Gulf through this way.”

Berdymuhamedov said that Turkmenistan always strives for mutually acceptable decisions on the basis of international law and with view to protect sovereignty and lawful interests of the Caspian states.

He added that Turkmenistan considers unacceptable the practice of unilateral actions in the Caspian, first of all, the realization of petroleum projects on those sites where adequate consultation with interested parties has not taken place.

The foreign policy of Turkmenistan is based on observance of international norms and principles and there has never been even a single occasion when anyone could doubt the credibility of this stance, said Bedymuhamedov. He added with emphasis that when we speak about observance of principles and norms of international law, it is not only with reference to Turkmenistan; it applies equally to all the neighbouring countries in the Caspian region.

Berdymuhamedov appealed to the Caspian states to show more flexibility in their stance.

The importance that Turkmenistan attaches to the North-South corridor can be gauged from the fact that President Berdymuhamedov called a special meeting of the cabinet of ministers immediately on landing back in Ashgabat.

Chairing the meeting at the airport, Berdymuhamedov said that no effort should be spared to fulfill the obligations arising from the agreement signed in Tehran for construction of Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Iran railway line that would link the Central Asian region with Russia on one side and the Persian Gulf on the other.

He said that Turkmenistan initiated the idea of the railway link and it would help transit millions of tons of cargo annually.

Here are some details of the 25 articles of Tehran Declaration, as received from APA (Azeri Press Agency):

1. The parties will do their best to make Caspian region the region of stability and peace where international law is guaranteed. They are resolute in cooperating in political, diplomatic, commercial, economic, scientific, technical, cultural, public and other spheres in the framework of bilateral and multilateral relations.

2. The parties support continuous meetings of the heads of the Caspian states by the sides’ consent, and meetings of foreign ministers, as well as authorized experts for analyzing the issues related to the Caspian Sea.

3. The parties will work on use of Caspian resources, extend cooperation and negotiations in economic field, especially in the spheres of energy and transportation taking into account its development potential.

4. The parties will assist one another by establishing international transport corridor for efficient use of transportations in the region.

5. The parties state that only littoral states have the right for the Caspian Sea and its resources.

6. The parties state that full legal status of the Caspian will come into force after the convention on legal status of the Caspian sea is signed.

7. The parties agree to ship sail, fishing and navigation until the new legal status of the Caspian Sea is determined. It can be possible only if ships sail under the flags of the littoral states.

8. The parties state that confirmation of the full legal status of the Caspian and conclusion of the convention on the sea’s legal status is very important. This convention, as the main document of the legal status of the Caspian Sea, is to determine authorities of the littoral states respecting the laws of these countries, and ecological rules are to be reflected here. It also includes efficient use of natural sources, as well as marine life, fields, navigation and other related issues.

9. The parties declare that the littoral states’ last agreement on the borders of underground and overland resources of the sea will be implemented taking into consideration and respecting their laws.

10. The parties agreed on continuing talks on determining water boundaries of the Caspian.

11. The parties realize their responsibilities vis-à-vis the present and future generations and are persistent in protecting the Caspian Sea, solving its ecological problems in the framework of cooperation, protecting and preserving biological diversity. The parties support cooperation to prevent unpleasant results taking into account marine environment of the Caspian Sea. The parties will continue cooperation in the region basing on the legal status of the Caspian for establishing legal framework. The parties agree to the implementation of the document on marine environment of the Caspian Sea signed in Tehran in 2003 in November. They also underline the importance of completing the basic provisions of the convention and mention establishing permanent secretariat of the convention.

12. The parties confirm the “principle of responsibility of the Caspian states for damage inflicted to the Caspian environment and to each other as a result of the activity to use the Caspian Sea and develop its resources.

13. The parties state that the Caspian Sea should be used only for peaceful purposes and all the related issues will be solved by the littoral states peacefully. The parties will try to ensure security and stability of the basin in order to build mutual credibility, and refrain from using military forces in mutual relations.

14. The parties confirm that their armed forces will not be used against the opposite side.

15. The parties will not allow other states to use their territories to carry out military operations against littoral states.

16. The parties consider it expedient to continue talks on the legal status of the Caspian in the spirit of mutual respect and in the framework of international law norms.

17. The parties, taking into account the importance of security, peace and stability in the Caspian Sea region, underline the importance of continuing negotiations on all issues related to security on the Caspian Sea.

18. The parties will do their best for cooperation for establishing multipolar perfect and equitable world, new, improved and international political, economic and legal order.

19. The parties regard the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as one of the most important pillars of international security and stability, support further implementation of the Treaty. The parties also reaffirm that all NPT signatories and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member states have the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology ’without any discrimination’.

20. The parties reaffirming the inherent right of every nation to choose its own path of development based on respect for human rights, taking into account the historical, social and cultural values of the Caspian countries oppose interference in the internal affairs of independent nations.

21. The parties believe that a prerequisite for ensuring security, peace and stability in the region is peaceful, just and lasting settlement of the conflicts in accordance with the UN Charter.

22. The parties consider that international terrorism, aggressive separatism, illegal trafficking of drugs, arms and other illegal actions pose threat for the entire world.

23. The parties reaffirm their commitment to the development of broad bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the framework of UN and international law in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, arms and other illegal actions.

24. The parties welcome the results of the Tehran summit. They state that they will do their best to extend the cooperation among the littoral states.

25. The next meeting of the Presidents of the Caspian States will be held in October 2008 in Baku.

nCa Commentary:

It was purely by accident that Caspian summit happened at a time when Putin is absolutely angry at Bush and the United States has gone out of its way to annoy Turkey and China.

The 25 points of Tehran Declaration dovetail nicely with the SCO declaration issued in Bishkek and the bilateral agreements the Central Asian states have recently been signing with each other and with China and Russia.

Article 14 and 15 of the declaration declare in plain language that the littoral states would neither use their armed forces against each other nor allow any other state to use their territory for military operations against any of the littoral states.

This throws a decisive wrench into any designs the USA may have against Iran. The entire Caspian region, including the convenient territory of Azerbaijan, is suddenly out of bounds for American military.

It would leave Afghanistan and Iraq as the possible staging areas for American military operations against Iran – that is, if the things come to direct confrontation.

Even these two countries may soon become less-than-ideal for flying and marching toward Iran if Uncle Sam continues on its path of antagonizing friends and foes alike.

Any success in Iraq – and the use of Iraq as staging point for Iran operations – depends greatly on cooperation of Turkey. The Armenian genocide resolution may or may not achieve anything else but it would surely alienate Turkey. If the top Turkish soldier says that bilateral relations are at stake, he probably means business. As a matter of fact, Turkey may be inclined to complicate things for the United States if the Armenian genocide resolution emerges at the other end of the tunnel.

While Turkey can spoil Iraq for Bush, China can give similar treatment to Afghanistan if it feels sufficiently aggrieved by the travel plans of Dalai Lama.

The fact that the US military options are suddenly limited is just one of the effects of Tehran summit.

By a symmetrical sequence of commission and omission, the littoral states have locked Azerbaijan into a push-pull bracket.

On the one hand Azerbaijan has been warned against any flirtation with the American military and on the other hand there is a big carrot of North-South corridor. If the Azeri leadership is half as smart as it appears to be, it would lose no time in barricading itself against any foreign military overtures.

Military aspect aside, the integration of North-South corridor into the Caspian summit is the biggest thing to come out of Tehran moot.

It is difficult to wrap one’s mind around the enormous potential of the North-South corridor.

If the discovery of the sea routes was the death of the Silk Road, the establishment of North-South corridor could reverse the course of history.

If the transportation time between South Asia and Europe is cut down by eight days and the freight charges are slashed by US $ 500 per container, would there be any businessman in South and Central Asia or China who would refuse to use the North-South corridor?

And, it cuts both ways: Would there be any businessman in Europe who would decline to send his cargo through North-South corridor merely on ideological grounds?

If this doesn’t sound like real-big thing, here is more:

Reduced freight costs and short transportation time would make Chinese goods even more competitive in the European markets. If nothing else, it would help China improve wages of its workers without increasing the export prices.

The North-South corridor would give birth to free trade and industrial zones along the way in Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. It would encourage European manufacturers to relocate their facilities to any convenient location along the North-South corridor and ship the end product in either direction at minimum cost swiftly.

If it still doesn’t sound impressive, let’s add another charm to the North-South corridor.

Nearly half of the world cargo passing through Russia would mean that Kremlin would always be able to play a global role even after the demise of the hydrocarbon resources.