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PP RUEHBS
DE RUEHDIR #0021/01 1150843
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 240843Z APR 08
FM IRAN RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0260
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDIR/IRAN RPO DUBAI PRIORITY 0253
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 0224
RUEHAD/USDAO ABU DHABI TC
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0192
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  4/24/2018 
TAGS: ECON EFIS EMIN ENGR EPET IR
SUBJECT: CASPIAN SEA RESOURCES REMAIN AN ITEM OF CONTENTION BETWEEN 
IRAN, RUSSIA AND CENTRAL ASIA 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Acting Director, Iran Regional 
Presence Office, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
1.(S) Summary:  Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, 
"equitable" distribution of Caspian Sea resources has been an 
item of contention between the five littoral states: 
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan. 
According to press articles, the Caspian is said to contain some 
12% of the world's oil reserves, as well as huge deposits of 
natural gas.  Iran hosted the 22nd meeting of the special 
working group which is tasked with producing the convention for 
the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, April 15-16.  (Note:  the 
first meeting was held in 1991.  Endnote)  The five states were 
unable to come to a consensus in this latest round of meetings. 
 IRPoffs have been told by several contacts that if the US 
government would like to send a "positive" signal to Iran, it 
could publicly back the split of the sea into five "equal" 
portions.  End Summary. 
 
2.(SBU) Tehran hosted the 22nd meeting of the Caspian Sea 
special working group, tasked with establishing a "legal regime" 
for the sea that is acceptable to all parties, April 15-16.  In 
past treaties signed between Iran and the Soviet Union in the 
1920s and 1940s, the two parties designated the Caspian as a 
lake; agreeing to divide the body of water into two parts and 
commonly share resources - which at the time was mostly fishing. 
 (Note:  If a body of water is labeled a "sea" then 
international treaties come into play, obligating access permits 
to foreign vessels - whereas if a body of water is designated a 
"lake," there are no such obligations.  Endnote)  Kazakhstan, 
Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, do not recognize the earlier 
treaties between Iran and the Soviet Union, and the five states 
have been attempting to "equitably" resolve issues pertaining to 
energy resources, fishing rights and security since 1991. 
 
3.(SBU) According to press articles, the Caspian is said to 
contain some 12% of the world's oil reserves, as well as huge 
deposits of natural gas.  Furthermore, security and military 
rights are a topic of much concern.  In October of 2007, the 
five States agreed not to let foreign militaries use Caspian 
waters as a launching point for any potential attacks.  Iranian 
Commander Seyyed Mahmood Mousavi called for the prevention of 
any "alien" presence in the Caspian Sea April 18, saying that 
the littoral states do not want the Caspian to "become like the 
Persian Gulf."  (Note.  The article did not specify if Mousavi 
is an IRGC or Armed Forces commander.  Endnote)  To date, the 
five parties have only been able to agree on quotas for sturgeon 
fishing and have signed the Caspian Environment Protection 
Convention. 
 
Options for division 
 
----------------------- 
 
4.(SBU) After failing to convince the other four members to stay 
with the original 50/50 split - forcing Kazakhstan, 
Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Russia to share half of the Caspian 
resources, Iran "compromised" pushing for an "equal" 1/5 
division of the Caspian among the five countries.   Kazakhstan, 
Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan have consistently insisted that 
each state should be awarded a proportionate share of the 
Caspian based on its coastline.  Under this scheme, Iran would 
only be eligible for roughly 11%-13% of the Caspian.  Russia 
initially suggested a more complex equation of dividing the 
seabed (and the mineral resources that go along with it) along a 
sectoral line and sharing the surface (a.k.a. the fishing 
rights) commonly - with each state receiving an exclusive zone 
and sharing the center.  According to press reports, Russia now 
favors the same plan as the former Soviet States -- dividing the 
Caspian in accordance with coastline boundaries. 
 
5.(SBU) The former Soviet States have signed a host of bilateral 
treaties amongst themselves, and with Russia --demarcating 
borders and apportioning resources; none of which are recognized 
by Iran.  Iran is insistent that a single, multilateral 
agreement between all five parties be signed. In a newsletter to 
clients April 20, an Iranian consultant and political/economic 
analyst claimed that Foreign Minister Mottaki has hinted at the 
possibility of Iran accepting a break-up that would give it 
rights over some 11% of the sea.  However, continued the 
analyst, many Iranian MPs want at least a five-way break-up and, 
at most, some revision of the 1940s treaty with the USSR which 
stipulated the sea's resources were "common" between the two 
countries.  On January 20, according to press reports, several 
MPs complained that the government was not "doing enough" on the 
Caspian issue. 
 
6.(S) Comment:  Given the natural resources and security 
concerns, it is unlikely that the five littoral states will 
reach a resolution on the Caspian issue in the near future. 
IRPoffs have been told by several Iranian contacts that if the 
USG "is ever looking to send a positive signal to Iran," it 
could publicly support "equitable" distribution of the Caspian - 
granting each state 20% of the Sea, which is more than 
reasonable in the minds of many Iranians. An equal distribution 
of Caspian resources would still represent an overall 30% loss 
for Iran as compared to the original treaties signed with the 
Soviet Union. 
ASGARD