•  Leaders from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have finally signed a legal convention on ways to manage Caspian Sea and its surrounding areas.

About Agreement:

• The convention signed at the recent summit has confirmed that the surface of the Caspian Sea would be legally classified as a sea, meaning each country would control 15 nautical miles of water from its shoreline for mineral exploration and 25 natural miles of shoreline for fishing.
• All other parts of the Caspian Sea would be considered neutral waters for common use. The summit also produced important security decisions, including an agreement that military vessels from non-Caspian states would be prohibited from entering the sea.

Analysis:

• Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991, that's what it was known as and shared between the USSR and Iran. But the arrival on the scene of new countries complicated this issue, with ensuing claim and counterclaim. Iran had argued it was a lake and not a sea, but none of the four other countries agreed.
• Caspian Sea which is practically a lake is treated as sea because If it was treated as a sea, then it would be covered by international maritime law, namely the United Nations Law of the Sea.
• This binding document sets rules on how countries can use the world's oceans. It covers areas such as the management of natural resources, territorial rights, and the environment. And it is not limited to littoral states, meaning others can seek access to its resources.
• But if it is defined as a lake, then it would have to be divided equally between all five countries.
• Another key factor is that seabed boundaries are yet to be negotiated (although now it's the subject of bilateral agreements - not multilateral as before).
• But because the deal does not define the Caspian as a lake, Iran - which has the smallest coastline - is viewed as a potential loser.
• The Caspian Sea is highly-prized for its vast oil and gas reserves. It's estimated there are 50 billion barrels of oil and nearly 300 trillion cubic feet (8.4 trillion cubic metres) of natural gas beneath its seabed.
• That is why disagreements over how to divide some of its huge oil and gas fields have been numerous - and acrimonious. On occasion, warships have been deployed to scare off contractors hired by rival countries.
• The disagreement over its legal status has also prevented a natural gas pipeline being built across the Caspian between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. This would have allowed Turkmen gas to bypass Russia on its way to Europe.
• The Caspian Sea has a number of different species of sturgeon, the fish that yields the highly prized delicacy caviar. Between 80-90% of the world's caviar is sourced from the Caspian, but the numbers have been falling over the past few decades.