The 6th Caspian Summit was held in Ashgabat in a "friendly and trusting atmosphere", it was attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
The leaders discussed topical issues of cooperation in the Caspian Sea in relation to various spheres, as well as the implementation of resolutions made during the previous meetings of the heads of the Caspian “five”, according to the communique.
The final communique of the Caspian Summit in Ashgabat noted that this agreement "will serve to ensure security and stability, to establish regulations and rules for interaction of the Caspian states in the military sphere in accordance with the principles of the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea."
The presidents of the Caspian countries reaffirmed in the communique that the activities of the littoral states will be based on a number of principles, in particular, "ensuring a stable balance of arms of the littoral states in the Caspian Sea, carrying out military build-up within the limits of reasonable sufficiency taking into account the interests of all littoral states, and not harming each other's security."
Among other principles of interaction between the Caspian states are "the absence of armed forces in the Caspian Sea that do not belong to the littoral states, and the non-provision by any littoral state of its territory to other countries for aggression and other military actions against any of the littoral states."
The communique published on the Kremlin's website generally highlighted "the importance of interaction in the military sphere in the Caspian Sea."
Vladimir Putin said that "Russia unfailingly supports expanding partnerships within the Caspian “five” – in politics, security, the economy and nature conservation, as well as many other items on the humanitarian agenda, as well as expressed confidence that prosperity in our shared region can only be guaranteed by an unfailing commitment to the principles enshrined in the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.
In addition, the Russian leader believes a lot needs to be done to improve the transport and logistics architecture of the region, first of all, the International North-South Transport Corridor.
Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the interaction between the Caspian states. "I am pleased to note that our interaction is based on the respect for the interests of all parties, respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence of Caspian littoral states and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," he said.
"The key priorities of littoral states remain the desire to create favorable conditions for the development of mutually beneficial economic cooperation, improve the investment climate, create reliable and secure communications, and attract highly profitable and environmentally friendly technologies," the Azerbaijni leader said.
Addressing the 6th Summit of the Heads of the Caspian States, the Kazakh president highlighted that the importance of the Caspian Sea is increasing due to its transit capacity, natural resources, and geo-location. According to him, the role of the Trans-Caspian international transport route has risen significantly to ensure transit flows between Europe, Central Asia, and China.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that cooperation among the Caspian Sea nations is becoming increasingly important, as the solution to the status of the Caspian Sea can be found only by the littoral states. "We support the initiatives voiced by the heads of the Caspian littoral states to develop relations in transport, investment and tourism. We also focus on environmental protection," he noted.
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov called the provision of strong, long-term and indivisible security in the region one of the main tasks and, at the same time, an indispensable condition for the success of five-sided cooperation in the Caspian Sea.
Vladimir Putin met with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during his visit to Turkmenistan. Putin pointed out that relations between the two countries "are in a very good state." Ilham Aliyev said that relations between his country and Russia will develop successfully. "We are certain that the relations between Russia and Azerbaijan will develop successfully for the benefit of our countries and peoples," he noted.
The Russian President also held a separate conversation with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the Sixth Caspian Summit in Ashgabat. "Our relations are truly deep, strategic in nature. We remain in constant contact on issues of political cooperation, on issues of security, we work on flashpoints, like in Syria," Putin said.
The President of Azerbaijan also held a meeting with Raisi in Ashgabat. "There has been very good progress on a number of issues, especially in transport, energy and other areas," Ilham Aliyev said. "The potential of relations between our two countries is greater than what we currently have," Raisi said. The Iranian president noted that political and economic relations, trade and cultural ties between our two countries can be further developed.
