The Caspian Sea is not only a place where the geopolitical and military-political interests of the five regional powers (Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran and Turkmenistan) are intertwined, but it is primarily a powerful hub where the transcontinental routes of the Great Silk Road, connecting East and West, converge. And this, in turn, promises significant economic benefits for all the Caspian states, in particular, it will promote the growth of foreign investment in their economies.

The Caspian Sea is a unique object, whose hydrocarbon resources and biological riches have no analogues in the world. For example, the Caspian Sea is one of the oldest areas of oil production. According to experts, the reserves of hydrocarbons, and they are estimated at 20 billion tons, should be enough for many years to all the Caspian states. By the way, scientists are still arguing about the Caspian Sea. Some classify it as the largest lake on Earth, others refer to the drainless seas. But whatever it was, the Caspian Sea remains a unique place on our planet.

It should be emphasized that until recently, the legal status of the Caspian Sea was not settled, which caused numerous disputes among the Caspian states and created significant difficulties in the use of its natural resources. Finally, in August 2018, the leaders of the five Caspian littoral states signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). The Presidents of Russia Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Azerbaijan – Ilham Aliyev, Turkmenistan – Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Iran – Hassan Rouhani met at the fifth Caspian Summit in Aktau, Kazakhstan. At this summit, the heads of the Caspian states signed the document, which was worked on for more than twenty years and became a kind of result of the four previous meetings of the “Caspian five”.

Recall that during the existence of the USSR, the Caspian Sea was actually the inner sea of the Soviet Union, because Iran owns only about 14% of the coast. Accordingly, the development of the region was conducted on the basis of bilateral agreements between Moscow and Tehran. However, after the change of geopolitical realities in 1991, the number of Caspian states increased to five, and therefore there was a need to regulate the status of the sea on the basis of a multilateral agreement. Moreover, the Caspian Sea as a closed body of water does not fall under the rules of international maritime law.

The adoption of the Convention made it possible to resolve many controversial issues in the Caspian region. For example, in the case of laying a pipeline on the seabed, the consent of all the countries of the “five” is not required, the details are agreed by those states through whose sections the highway passes. The document also notes that when implementing large-scale marine projects, the environmental factor is necessarily taken into account. The Convention also fixes the provision on the prevention of the presence of the armed forces of non-regional powers in the Caspian Sea, and also defines the five Caspian states responsible for maintaining security at sea and managing its resources. The Convention also gives the five States exclusive and sovereign rights to the Caspian Sea.

It should be noted that in addition to the Convention, the parties concluded three other five-party intergovernmental agreements: on cooperation in the trade and economic sphere; in the field of transport; and on the prevention of incidents in the Caspian Sea. Three protocols to the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Security in the Caspian Sea of 2010 were also signed. They relate to the fight against terrorism, organized crime and cooperation between border agencies. Traditionally, the parties paid great attention to the preservation of the biodiversity of the Caspian Sea, where, for example, 90% of the world’s sturgeon stocks are concentrated.

It is important to emphasize this fact here. In March of this year, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a landmark agreement on the joint development of the Dostluk field, which has been disputed for almost four decades. The agreement opens up prospects for reviving the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project and opens the way for Turkmen gas to enter the European market. The fact is that until now, gas from Turkmenistan was mainly sent to China or the Central Asian states. Separate deliveries are also made to Russia.

On January 21, 2021, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on joint exploration, development and development of this oil and gas field located on the maritime border of the two states in the Caspian Sea. Although its name literally translates from both languages as “friendship”, the dispute over the ownership of the field has been conducted since 1986, and significant progress in resolving this controversial issue was achieved only after the signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea three years ago. Note that Russia (represented by LUKOIL) and Turkey also intend to take part in this project.

The agreement reached between Baku and Ashgabat reflects the rapprochement and expansion of cooperation between the two states that has been observed in recent years. Suffice it to say that over the past three years, more than 50 documents have been signed between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and five official visits have been made at the level of the presidents of the two countries. The launch of the Southern Gas Corridor on December 30, 2020, and the victory of the Azerbaijani oil company SOCAR Trading in the tender for the purchase of Turkmen oil, gave Ashgabat additional motivation to establish ties with Baku in the field of energy

However, we can safely assume that cooperation between the Caspian states will affect not only the energy sector, but also other areas in the future. As Russian President Vladimir Putin noted earlier, the resorts of the Caspian Sea have great tourist potential, but regional powers must make efforts to develop it. In his opinion, after the signing of the Convention, a reliable legal framework for the peaceful use of the riches of this region has been created. “I would like to note that tourism is a promising area of cooperation,” Putin stressed. According to the Russian president,” according to available estimates, the resorts of the Caspian Sea can potentially receive more than one million tourists annually.” “The relevant agencies of the five countries could prepare a program of joint projects in the field of tourism,” he suggested.

At the same time, we must admit that the Caspian Sea has its own problems. The main environmental problems of the Caspian Sea include: sea level decline; sewage pollution; overfishing and poaching; oil and chemical industry pollution; foreign organisms’ infiltration. And each country contributes to the deterioration of the environmental situation in the region. And it is quite obvious that the solution of these problems requires the efforts of all five Caspian states.

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