EXPERT MEETING TO BE HELD BEFORE SUMMIT OF CASPIAN STATES








MOSCOW, March 12, 2001. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Oleg Osipov/--An expert meeting will precede the summit meeting of the Caspian Five, which includes Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, announced Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference that followed talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami.


	"No matter what decision we reach, it should not hamper sea traffic and the use of the water space of the Caspian Sea," stressed Putin.