Baku Summit

Five Caspian states namely Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan participated in the fourth Caspian summit which took place in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan on 18- 20 November 2010. Baku summit was called to discuss Caspian Sea’s legal status and to discuss the territorial division of the Caspian Sea and the establishment of the Caspian Economic Cooperation Organisation.

At the end of the Baku summit, the five nations issued a joint declaration which confirmed their intention to sign a convention for establishing a new legal status on the Caspian Sea.The five nations also signed an agreement on security cooperation in the Caspian Sea which covered issues like terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and organized crimes.The five nations agreed to take measures to solve the long time dispute over the Caspian Sea.

This was the third time the coastal states of Caspian Sea met in Baku to plan a suitable legal regime for the Caspian Sea so that they could divide its natural resources among them.

Caspian Sea is rich with oil and gas resources and is a bone of contention between the five nations which border the Sea. Iran wants the Caspian Sea to be divided into five equal parts among the five nations but Azerbaijan is against such idea. Baku summit was an attempt to bring consensus on the status of Caspian Ocean.