For most of Russia’s neighbours, the conflict between Moscow and Kiev opens up great opportunities
... ... plays an independent role. The Ukrainian crisis has strengthened the status of Ankara.
Azerbaijan is another winning player. Baku maintains partnership relations with Moscow... ... “alternate airfields” in neighbouring countries, business may well return to Russia.
Turkmenistan is likely to benefit tangibly from rising gas prices. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan...
... the new council would be to deal with those issues as they arose.
Questions concerning the legal status of the Caspian Sea and related disputes came to the fore with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the newly independent states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan. Until then, commerce and navigation on the Caspian were regulated by bilateral agreements between the USSR and Iran, at the time the only two coastal states bordering the Caspian, with third parties actively discouraged from use. As post-Soviet ...
... journalists and anyone interested in studying the future and analysing long-term global trends.
The opinions presented in these articles reflect the personal views and research positions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Russian International Aairs Council.
RIAC scientific and editorial support:
I. Timofeev, Ph.D. in Political Science; T. Makmutov, Ph.D. in Political Science; I. Sorokina, M. Smekalova, R. Mayka; with participation of D. Khaspekova and N. Mukhin.
... parties involved.
There have also been some positive moves towards resolving the Caspian problems. On 18 November 2010, for example, an agreement on cooperation in the field of security in the Caspian Sea was signed by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Azerbaijan Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan. Within the framework of this agreement the different sides agreed to cooperate in fighting terrorism, organised crime, the illegal movement of weapons of any kind and of ammunition, explosives and toxic substances and military equipment,...
... creating a mechanism for imposing a moratorium on catching sturgeon.
According to official statements, the negotiations only made headway on environmental issues (such as conserving the sturgeon population). In addition, the “Caspian Five” (Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan) reaffirmed the principle of Caspian states’ non-interference in regional affairs.
As far as I can gather, no progress has been achieved on the main problem, i.e. agreeing spheres of influence. And without that, signing the Convention ...
