Negotiations Aabout the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and Impact of this Process on Local and Regional Energy Security

The world's growing demand for energy resources made the Caspian littoral states to accelerate the negotiation process and solve the legal status of the sea. Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth. It has no outflows and is bounded by five states, Russia in the northwest, Iran in the south, Turkmenistan in the southeast and Kazakhstan in the northeast and Azerbaijan in the west. Among these countries Azerbaijan has favorable geographic location; it situates along the historical Silk Road connecting East and West, South and North hemispheres. The issue of the legal status of the Caspian Sea remains unresolved until today. There are some reasons for this. First coastal states have different positions and each of them is trying to gain advantage in this situation. Secondly, super power US and regional powers like Russia, China and etc. have certain interests in the Caspian basin. Turkmenistan and Iran’s positions, impossibility of comprehensive cooperation among coastal states and their impact on regional energy security have been analyzed in the article briefly and clearly. Negotiation process, which began after the collapse of the Soviet Union, continues till today. The main progress in this direction were summits held with the participation of the state leaders of the coastal countries. Ashgabat, Tehran and Baku summit and their importance are undeniable. The legal status of the Caspian Sea is a very topical problem today. This unresolved issue has a great impact on other issues. That is why along with Caspian countries other interested parties in the region including regional and international forces should use their opportunities and solve the issue.

Keywords

treaties, legal status of the Caspian Sea, positions of states, energy security