Gharibabadi said in an interview published on Saturday that the delimitation of the Caspian seabed and subsoil must be determined through separate agreements between countries with adjacent and opposite coasts.
The interview with Gharibabadi was conducted this week as the Iranian government has decided to urgently submit the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea to parliament. Iran is the only Caspian littoral state that has not yet ratified the convention. The government’s decision comes amid public debate over the convention’s provisions, Iran’s rights and interests in the Caspian, and questions surrounding the country’s share of the sea.
According to the deputy foreign minister, the decision was based on three main considerations: changes in the security environment around the Caspian Sea, the need to strengthen economic and commercial cooperation among littoral states, and the resolution of certain legal issues concerning the sea.
Gharibabadi noted that the security situation around the Caspian has changed significantly over the past two years, particularly as the presence of non-littoral actors in the region has increased as a result of decisions by some coastal states.
He also said the convention could facilitate greater economic and commercial cooperation among the five Caspian littoral states, including in fisheries, transportation and transit. He attributed delays in concluding several cooperation agreements to the fact that the convention has yet to enter into force.
Addressing concerns raised in Iran over the convention, Gharibabadi said issues such as Iran’s share of the Caspian Sea, its energy resources, water level, baseline and seabed delimitation should not be conflated with the convention itself.
He said the administration respects the concerns of critics and plans to hold meetings with academics and researchers holding different views on the Caspian issue, adding that their concerns should be addressed through documented and reasoned responses.
On security provisions, Gharibabadi said Article 3 of the convention prohibits the presence and even transit of armed forces belonging to non-littoral states in the Caspian Sea. The littoral states have also undertaken not to allow their territories to be used by other states for acts of aggression or other military actions against another member state.
MNA