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Subject
Talks to decide the Caspian Sea's status.
Significance
A working group representing the five states around the Caspian Sea meets this month to prepare for a summit promised before July. The littoral states are said to be close to agreeing the legal position of the sea, but Iran's assent is far from certain.
Impacts
A Caspian convention will not solve contested claims to mid-sea oil reserves.
Environmental protection could end up being sacrificed to the exploration and development of untapped hydrocarbon reserves.
Trans-Caspian shipping will be boosted by its role in the Eurasian transport networks of China's Belt and Road initiative.
Keywords:
Iran,
CIS,
RUCIS,
Azerbaijan,
Caucasus,
Central Asia,
Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan,
IRAN/CIS,
economy,
international relations,
foreign policy,
gas,
international law,
oil,
talks,
treaty,
infrastructure,
military,
industry,
shipping
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2018
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