SUMMIT WITHOUT AGENDA

An informal meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazak-hstan, Russia and Turkmenistan in Aktau has caused a great outcry in the Caspian region, and not only there. It demonstrated the desire of the post-Soviet Caspian "quartet" to strengthen regional cooperation, both at bilateral and multilateral levels, in accordance with principles of good neighbourliness, equality and mutual security.

The initiative to hold the summit came from the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazar-bayev, thus it was held in Kazakhstan's Aktau. However, this idea brought a sharp protest from another Caspian littoral state - Iran. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, Manuchehr Mottaki, sent a letter to the foreign ministries of the four countries in which they were accused of addressing the problems of the Caspian region without Iran's participation. A number of Iranian politicians made rhetorical statements on this issue. In particular, a member of the parliamentary commission for national security and foreign policy, Hishmatullah Falahat Pisheh, even saw the meeting without Tehran as a "warning to Iran". The MP believes that Tehran should submit a complaint to an international court against Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which "want to take a decision on the Caspian Sea without Iranian participation, because of their common interests."

But even before the summit in Aktau, its participants made it clear to Iran that its concern had no basis, as the Quartet did not plan to take any decisions in relation to the legal status of the Caspian Sea. During the meeting itself, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazak-hstan, Russia and Turkmenistan confirmed that they will not discuss the subject of the Caspian without Iran's participation and expressed their hope for a swift holding of the next summit of Caspian states in Baku. In particular, the summit host, Nursultan Nazarbayev, said: "We are not discussing the problem of the Caspian Sea today. We last discussed it in Tehran and it was decided to hold the next meeting in Baku. We hope that with Tehran's participation, we will all meet soon and discuss this issue of great importance to us all."

The summit in Aktau had no negotiations as such on the agenda. As Nazarbayev said, "there are no serious or major problems between us. Other problems that arise can be resolved through negotiation, as we always do. We and our people will all benefit from this discussion and free exchange of views." Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev stressed in his speech: "We often meet at various events, including formal and informal CIS summits, so our communication is a natural process, and today's meeting also provides a good opportunity just to exchange views in an informal atmosphere, without an agenda, on issues of mutual interest."

The Caspian situation was, of course, not ignored in Aktau but, apart from this issue, the summit also discussed issues of regional security, energy cooperation and preparations for the October summit of CIS leaders in Chisinau. Russia's President Dmitriy Medvedev focused on ways out of the global economic crisis. Describing Russia's position ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, USA, he said that Moscow would insist on the need to improve the international financial system. "It is important that the international community and major economies take further steps to reform and reconstruct the international financial system," said Medvedev, who proposed a defence of common positions on this issue to his counterparts.

There is every reason to believe that the summit in Aktau exchanged views on matters of direct relevance to strategic partnerships between the countries of the Caspian Quartet. This, first of all, concerns issues of cooperation in the fields of energy and security. 

Shortly before the summit, the President of Russia took the initiative to reformat the relationship between Caspian littoral states in the gas sector, on the basis of intergovernmental agreements, in the medium and long-term. Obviously, although Moscow mainly employs the concepts of economic viability and commercial benefit during interstate transactions in the energy sector, it is interested in their compliance with its geopolitical objectives. This is the reason behind Moscow's position on the unacceptability of a military presence by "extra-regional countries" in the Caspian Sea area, which was once again expressed by Dmitriy Medvedev during an "internal" meeting in Astrakhan in August. In any case, Russia's interests coincide with those of the other littoral countries in this respect.

A report entitled "Consolidating the Capacity of the Caspian 'Five': Problems and Prospects", prepared by a group of Azerbaijani and Kazakh experts, was announced on the eve of the summit. It states: "While for the five littoral states - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan - the Caspian is a 'home' on which the welfare of each of the five countries largely depends, for many external players the Caspian Sea is no more than a means to solve their problems, which are often unrelated to the interests of the peoples inhabiting the region."

 However, there are also contradictions between the Caspian countries. So, the dispute between Russia and Turkmenistan following the decision of Russia's Gazprom to stop buying Turkmen gas has still been not resolved. The same report acknowledges that the Caspian states are not only engaged in a "tight tangle of mutual contradictions and unresolved disputes", but also periodically seek arbitration from "third countries located far from the Caspian Sea. However, such 'arbitration' is usually not free and, while gradually penetrating the region, external forces are beginning to demand their own 'fair share' and 'legitimate rights' to regulate the situation in the Caspian region." Of course, this refers to problems in Azerbaijani-Turkmen relations. By and large, the increased dialogue between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, observed in recent years, leaves no doubt that relations between the two states, even if there are a number of contentious issues arising from the unresolved question of the legal status of the Caspian Sea, will resolve into a lasting partnership in the short term. However, it should be recognized that recent actions by Ashgabat cause some concern.

As is known, the Turkmen president first said that the Turkmen side intends to appeal to the International Court of Arbitration to challenge Azerbaijan's rights to a number of oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea. Then Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov announced his intention to establish a naval base in the Caspian Sea, emphasizing that Turkmenistan, along with land borders, also has a long maritime border which must be carefully protected "from foreign attacks". Commenting on statements by the Turkmen president, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reiterated the position of our country which advocates "the transformation of the Caspian Sea into a region of peace". Baku refrained from any harsh assessments of the Turkmen side's actions, although various international media began exploiting the escalation in the Turkmen-Azerbaijani dispute. Moreover, Azerbaijan made it clear that it did not see a direct threat to its interests in Ashgabat's decisions, and even expressed understanding of their appropriateness for the Turkmen side. Representatives of Baku noted in this connection that Turkmenistan is using its right as a sovereign state and, therefore, we need to respect the right of a friendly country. Azerbaijan even made it clear that it is ready to help Turkmenistan to strengthen its naval forces, as our state has much experience in this field and has highly skilled naval forces.

Of course, the geostrategic background is clearly apparent in the recent decisions taken by the Turkmen leadership. The observed militarization of the Caspian Sea is directly related to the implementation of various regional energy projects. The fight between the world's leading forces for control over the rich mineral resources of Central Asia and the Caspian Sea, of course, cannot but prompt the countries of the region to strengthen their positions and prove themselves to be reliable partners able to defend their rights, and this, in particular, is expressed in their desire to strengthen their military power. In this sense, Berdimuhamedov's statement about the establishment of a Turkmen naval base in the Caspian Sea is intended to confirm Ashgabat's interest in the Nabucco project and in the construction of Trans-Caspian and Caspian gas pipelines.

Yet, despite their differences, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan held a four-sided summit and showed that their long-term strategic interests in the region objectively coincide. They are to maintain peace, stability and good neighbourliness, which make it possible to expect the formation of an organization of Caspian economic cooperation in the foreseeable future. This is the main message from the summit in Aktau.

Another important trait is that the political processes unfolding in the Caspian region are of great importance for the fate of the post-Soviet area. Therefore, the full clarification of problematic issues within the Quartet, a desire for which was demonstrated during the informal summit in Aktau, could contribute to the definition of means of strategic cooperation within the CIS, which is currently passing through a crucial phase of activity.