The working session of the deputy foreign ministers and experts of the five littoral states of the Caspian Sea will be held in Tehran on Monday. The representatives of the five countries will discuss the results of the previous debates, particularly those on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, to offer new proposals for the settlement of the legal regime of the world's largest lake.

Were this to happen, we should be optimistic about Moscow and Baku having realized that the problems of the sea cannot be resolved through unilateral or bilateral agreements, rather we need collective measures, instead of individual moves. In other words, it indicates that Moscow and Baku are ready to define their interests in the Caspian Sea on the basis of the geopolitical realities of the region, rather than complacence.

In fact problems in the definition of the legal regime of the Caspian Sea began to surface when Russia stopped observing the 1921 and 1940 agreements in 1977 and started concluding bilateral agreements with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, and when Azerbaijan emphasized on establishing relations with aliens for the transfer of energy from the region to the world markets.

Although bilateral agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan on the sub-sea resources of the Caspian have been concluded, the said countries have not yet reached an agreement on the exploitation of the common resources of the sea.

Moreover, their agreements have not been accepted by Iran and Turkmenistan. In order to reach an agreement on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, it is necessary for some of the regional states to change some of their policies. Given Moscow's role in the region, pragmatism and realism on the part of Russia with regard to the legal regime of the Caspian Sea will have a constructive impact on the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

It must be borne in mind that one of the principles that all of the regional countries have been emphasizing during the past decade is the demilitarization of the Caspian Sea. Hence military maneuvers by the regional countries will not be in the interests of the region, for the aliens, in hobnobbing with some regional countries, may follow suit. If the littoral states jointly stick to the demilitarization idea, and if they fight insecurity, instability, drug trafficking, and organized crime, there will be no excuse for the aliens to enter the region. The five littoral states can oppose the intervention of the aliens through joint efforts and common stances.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the ecological problems of the region and while paving the way for the exploitation of the resources, environmental hazards too should be taken into consideration. Indeed the environmental pollution of the Caspian stems from the activities of four littoral states, excluding Iran, hence they are recommended to take necessary measure to take care of the marine life and resources as well as the environment of the sea.

The representatives of Azerbaijan and Russia are expected to put forth more realistic proposals on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea so that the sea regime is defined as soon as possible in order for all the littoral states to be able to utilize, exploit and export the energy resources of the region to prepare the ground for the economic development and prosperity of the region.