The status of the Caspian Sea has long been under discussion among the five littoral states - Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The countries have yet to divide the sea's substantial reserves, including oil, natural gas, and fish, in particular caviar-bearing sturgeon, among themselves.
"The final declaration will set down a set of principles of conduct for the Caspian states, and will be a political guideline in Caspian issues until a convention on the legal status of the sea is worked out," a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mikhail Kamynin, said in an interview.
The diplomat said the Caspian summit, the second ever, would offer a good opportunity for the parties to exchange opinions on cooperation in different areas with regard to the Caspian Sea, including measures to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
Speaking about the convention, Kamynin said the littoral states had coordinated a number of important provisions, particularly that they must be the only ones to hold sovereign rights to use the sea and its resources, and that they must also be responsible for preserving its riches for further generations.
The official added that the parties had committed themselves to using the Caspian Sea for exclusively peaceful purposes, and to resolve any problems that may occur through peaceful means.
Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed an agreement in 2003 to divide the northern 64% of the sea between themselves, but Iran and Turkmenistan rejected the proposal.
The 2002 summit in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan addressed the legal rights of Caspian nations to explore the huge oil reserves beneath the world's largest saline lake.
