Caspian countries agree on milestone source-sharing deal

ASTRAKHAN, Russia

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow pose for a family picture during the Caspian Sea Summit in Astrakan on September 29, 2014. AFP Photo

The five nations with access to the Caspian Sea have agreed on how they would share its resources at a meeting in Russia.

All the details of the agreement are to be settled by next year, when a treaty is planned to be signed, Russia Today reported on Sept. 29.

Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran will retain sovereignty over waters up to 15 nautical miles from their coastlines, they announced in a joint statement following the meeting in Astrakhan, Russia’s largest city in the Caspian region. They will also have exclusive fishing rights over 10 more nautical miles.