Azerbaijan will stop any oil and gas exploration projects in the fields it shares with the Islamic Republic in the Caspian Sea until the legal regime of the sea is determined. Head of Press Department of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) in a phone contact with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said the British Petroleum (BP) company, as the contractor of most Azeri oil projects, has suspended all activities in Alborz field after disputes between Iran and Azerbaijan on the field mounted.

Meanwhile, BP representative in Baku told IRIB when contacted that there had been no exploration projects in Alborz field. The representative added that the company was not planning to carry out any specific activity there until Tehran and Baku arrive at a compromise in that connection.

It appears that BP's decision has prompted Azeri officials to adopt the above position. Still, analysts believe that Baku has been enough wise to make the move.

Any unilateral exploitation of Caspian common oil fields would hinder the materialized of peace in the Caspian sea, which has always been a sea of peace and friendship.

There has been a dispute between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan over several oil fields. The development of disputes between Baku and Ashkhabad is very serious. Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Turkmenistan closed its embassy in Baku in 1999.

Ashkhabad rejects the Azeri claims that it owned three oil fields in the central Caspian Sea, and just like Baku, believes that the fields belong to itself under Soviet laws. Experts believe that such disputes are a sign that both countries have resorted to unauthentic Soviet documents in their claims over ownership of the fields, and that any decision to divide the sea resources is troublesome.

Azerbaijan had better to stop its oil activities in the disputed Caspian fields to decrease tension with Turkmenistan.

In conclusion, analysts believe that Baku's move to stop oil exploration projects in Alborz field has been a positive step to expedite the issue of drawing up of a legal regime for the Caspian Sea and preparing the grounds for the expansion of relations with the Islamic Republic.