Ahmadinejad meets with Azeri premier

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the expansion and strengthening of ties between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“Tehran and Baku have strengths and experiences that can be used for the comfort, advancement and development of the people and governments of our two nations,” Ahmadinejad said after a meeting with Azeri Prime Minister Artur Rasizadeh on the sidelines of the Caspian summit.

The Iranian president also met with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday and plans on holding a meeting with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev as well.

The Iranian chief executive arrived in the Azeri capital of Baku on Wednesday to attend the third meeting of the leaders of Caspian littoral states in order to negotiate the legal regime of the sea and to discuss relations with Azeri officials.

The maritime and seabed boundaries of the Caspian Sea have yet to be demarcated among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan — the five countries bordering the sea.

Despite extensive negotiations, the legal status of the Caspian Sea has been unclear since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Caspian Sea legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the Soviet Union in 1921 and 1940.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan — the three new littoral states, established after the collapse of Soviet Russia — do not recognize the prior treaties, triggering a debate on the future status of the sea.