Azerbaijan, Baku, 23 May /corr. Trend S.Agayeva / The German politician considers that the settlement of the dispute between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan regarding Kapaz field is the joint development of the field.
"Long years dispute between the two countries, regarding the Kapaz field in the Caspian Sea, significantly present difficulties for the mutual beneficial co-operation in the Caspian. The way out of the situation may be its joint development," known German politician, member of International Security Forum of Germany, Iogann Rau, reported to Trend on 23 May.
The key difference between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in determination of Caspian's status is the Kapaz field, which the Turkmen side considers its own field, naming it as 'Sardar'. According to seismic-prospecting data, the supposed reserves on the field make up 80mln tons oil and 32bln cu.m. gas.
"Having the reliable resource base of large-scale energy projects, Azerbaijan considers fair the sectoral principle of division of the sea between the Caspian-littoral states. However, the position of Iran and Turkmenistan delays the closing decision on Caspian's status," Rau said.
The politician calls upon Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia to involve the European Union in settlement of Caspian's status. "The EU, which hopes the region to ensure its energy security, should take an interest in it," the politician said.
The issue on determination of the juridical status of the Caspian Sea occurred after the split of the USSR. Before 1991, the status was based on the agreements between the littoral states - Iran and the Soviet Union. In July 1998, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement on delimitation of the bed of the Caspian Sea's northern section to exercise the sovereign right to use the interior resources, and in May 2002 they signed a protocol for that agreement. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed the same documents in November 2001 and February 2003.
The correspondent can be contacted at: trend