HEADS OF RUSSIA AND IRAN ADOPT JOINT STATEMENT ON CASPIAN SEA








MOSCOW, MARCH 12, 2001. /RIA Novosti Correspondent Oleg Osipov/. The presidents of Russia and Iran -- Vladimir Putin and Mohammad Khatami -- have adopted a joint statement on the legal status of the Caspian Sea on the results of the Russian-Iranian top-level negotiations which were held in Moscow.


	The sides "openly declare their non-acceptance of any trans-Caspian oil and gas pipelines to be laid on the sea bed which constitute an ecological hazard in conditions of the extremely active geo-dynamic situation." Russia and Iran declare that the Caspian Sea should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. "The presence in the Caspian Sea of armed forces of the non-Caspian states is impermissible," says the document.


	The statement also declares that the Caspian Sea and its resources are the joint possession of the five littoral states which have the exclusive rights to that unique body of water. The five states are Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenia and Kazakhstan.