Mainstream Weeklyby R.G. Gidadhubli
On August 12, 2018 a meeting was held in the Central Asia’s port city of Aqtau in Kazakhstan when all the five states of the Caspian signed a new convention on its (Cospian’s) legal status. There are multiple factors which makes this event of global significance.
Firstly, this is an important geopolitical development considering the fact that the Caspian is surrounded by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. The Caspian has also geographical significance being located in the Eurasian region and not linked to any ocean.
Secondly, equally important is the fact that there have been ongoing disputes among these states on the water-sharing of the Caspian, which is very rich in energy resources. While during the Soviet era the Caspian was shared by two countries, namely the USSR and Iran, and there was no major dispute between them, now it is being shared by five sovereign and independent states. Hence the issue of sharing of the Caspian has become complex and often leading to conflicts that have remained unresolved during the last 20 years. Being landlocked, there have been disagreements among the member-states as to whether the Caspian is a sea or a lake. As per international law, if the Caspian is deemed a sea, the five countries would draw lines extending from their shores to the midway point with littoral neighbours. But if it is classified as a lake, then it would mean that the resources would be divided equally among these five countries. Hence Kazakhstan and Russia, which have long shores, will be the major beneficiaries since the Caspian is classified as a sea as agreed to by the leaders. Therefore, it is understandable that as per reports, the Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, stated in June 2018 that the countries would agree in Aqtau that the Caspian is a sea, which gives great benefit for Russia. This was implicitly reiterated also by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who stated at the summit that the settlement of the Caspian Sea’s legal status