MOSCOW Russia said it will take adequate measures to ensure compliance with inalienable principles of the freedom of navigation and fishing in the Caspian Sea. The announcement followed the publication by the newspaper Independent Turkmenia of a presidential decree ordering the creation of the national service for the development of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. The decree declared this sector of the sea an inalienable part of Turkmenia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a report on Monday. Russia has repeatedly said that it will not recognize as lawful attempts by some Caspian states to extend their sovereignty to parts of the sea, including under the pretext of "national sector", until the legal status of the Caspian Sea is determined, because such attempts run counter to the existing legal regime of the Caspian Sea based on the Soviet-Iranian treaties of 1921 and 1940, the ministry said.

Of particular concern is the fact that the national service for the development of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, judging from media commentaries, has been empowered to issue permits and licenses for developing and using fish resources and for navigation in the so-called Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, the report said. Attempts by Turkmenia to execute such regulation and licensing would be a direct violation of the principles of the freedom of navigation and fishing in the Caspian Sea provided for in the above treaties, the ministry said.

(IRNA)