Iranian envoy: Caspian security must remain in hands of littoral states

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali stated that the security of the Caspian region must be ensured solely by the Caspian littoral states and warned Western countries against attempts to interfere in regional affairs. He made the comments in a year-end interview with TASS.

Jalali noted that the countries bordering the Caspian Sea are committed to addressing regional issues independently and emphasised that outside powers should not seek to influence their policies.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran always emphasised the need to preserve the framework of cooperation exclusively among the five countries,” he said. “Tehran’s position, like Moscow’s, is based on the principle, according to which the security and management of the Caspian Sea’s resources must be carried out by the littoral states without interference from non-regional and foreign powers.”

The ambassador explained that the five Caspian states are advancing several lines of cooperation to uphold this approach. These include strengthening regional cooperation mechanisms, such as regular meetings of foreign ministers and summits of the Caspian coastal countries designed to coordinate action on security, environmental protection, and economic matters.

He added that another priority is “the development of common legal frameworks — on the basis of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, signed in 2018 — to prevent military presence in the sea by states that are not Caspian littoral countries.”

By Tamilla Hasanova