The chairman of the president of Turkmenistan’s state enterprise on the problems of Caspian Sea, Toyly Komekov, has been severely reprimanded "for unsatisfactory discharge of administrative duties and acknowledged shortcomings," Trend news agency reports.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov’s decree said that if the official failed to correct the shortcomings as soon as possible, he would be dismissed.
Komekov was appointed to this position slightly over a year ago, having headed the State Fishery Committee since January 2006.
Turkmenistan, along with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Iran, borders the Caspian Sea, rich in hydrocarbons and bio-resources. With the collapse of the Soviet Union there emerged the necessity of adopting a new agreement on the legal status of the body of water.
The five Caspian states have agreed that a convention may be adopted only by consensus. Until that happens, the legal regime established by Soviet-Iranian treaties remains in effect.
