TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) – Iran is an important country and no agreement on the Caspian Sea can be finalized without considering the views of Iran, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters on margins of the 12th Working Group of Caspian Sea legal regime in Tehran, Kharrazi said in this meeting the participants would try to approve some more points on the Caspian convention.

So far, he said, the littoral states have reached consensus on some points of the convention and in this session there will be more talks in order to reach more understanding about the Caspian Sea convention.

Only through the protection of the countries’ interests and a cooperation and understanding by the littoral states, this convention can bear fruit, the minister noted.

“We hope the Caspian Sea will remain the sea of peace and friendship and there will be no grounds for the presence of foreign troops,” he stated.

If the littoral states’ interests are observed, there will be no room for the presence of foreigners, the minister added.

When asked which countries should provide security in the southern Caucasus the top Iranian diplomat said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always maintained that regional countries should be the guardian of security but unfortunately no concrete steps have been in this regard. MS/MS End MNA