‍Central Asia and The Caucasus Journal

The collapse of the former Soviet Union, drew the Caspian Sea region out from a pure and calm strategic region and created numerous geopolitical opportunities and challenges for Iran ... Read More The collapse of the former Soviet Union, drew the Caspian Sea region out from a pure and calm strategic region and created numerous geopolitical opportunities and challenges for Iran and Russia. This fundamental development caused change in the surrounding Caspian Sea’s political borders and impacted on the legal status of the sea. Iran and Russia’s policies and approaches towards the Caspian Sea legal status fundamentally altered, as well. At the same time, with the emergence of differences of opinions and views among the coastal countries on the legal status and the way to exploit the Caspian Sea resources, there was created a fertile bed for presence and interference of big and extra-regional countries in the Caspian Sea. Under such circumstances, Iran/Russia policy alignment for managing the legal status developments of the Caspian Sea and preventing it from becoming a new hotbed of tensions , as well as, nearing together the opinions and positions of the other coastal countries has been crucial. The pivotal and main question of the present article is what impact Iran and Russia policies toward the legal status of the Caspian Sea can have on the expansion of penta-lateral cooperation among the Caspian Sea coastal countries. In the present paper this question is put to test whether Iran/Russia policies towards the Caspian Sea legal system- apart from the negative historical mindsets between the two countries- due to reasons like geographical continuity, regional requirements, joint destiny and the Caspian Sea vulnerability resulting from presence of the big powers, and concerns about emergence of instability and insecurity in the Caspian Sea, have been more convergent and led to strengthening of cooperation and conclusion of various documents of penta-lateral cooperation among the coastal countries. The present paper is of the Analytical-Descriptive type and the method used is inferential and the data has been analyzed using library and Internet sources.

Iran and Sino-Russian Axis in Central Asia

Farzaneh Safary; Hamid Ahmadi; Kayhan Barzegar

Volume 26, Issue 109 , May 2020, , Pages 103-138

Abstract

Central Asia is of great significance for Iran in terms of geopolitical and geostrategic links. In the meanwhile, China and Russia have also paid more attention to Central Asia in recent ... Read More

Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and its Impacts on the Cooperation among Littoral States

Ali Tiztak; Hamid Ahmadi; kayhan Barzegar

Volume 26, Issue 111 , March 2020, , Pages 1-23

Abstract

The independence of the Central Asian and South Caucasus republics in the early 1990s and the establishment of new states along the Caspian Sea inevitably affected the legal status ... Read More The independence of the Central Asian and South Caucasus republics in the early 1990s and the establishment of new states along the Caspian Sea inevitably affected the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which had been formed incompletely by previous treaties, and the unilateral actions of the Caspian Sea littoral states in the field of exploitation of the sea's energy resources and the signing of oil and gas contracts with large Western companies had caused disagreements and ambiguities about the legal regime of the sea and the exploitation of undersea resources. The influx of Western oil and gas companies to exploit the black gold in the Caspian Sea, along with the difficulties of not determining the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, further widened the differences between the littoral states and prolonged the negotiation process to reach a comprehensive agreement. The signing of the "Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea" as an important achievement, while resolving many ambiguities and disagreements on the issues regarding the Caspian Sea, will determine the general framework of cooperation among littoral states and will turn the Caspian Sea into another pole of regional cooperation. This article has been compiled with the aim of exploring the causes and areas of cooperation among littoral states in the light of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and seeks to provide an appropriate answer for the following question; "how the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea could affect and improve cooperation among littoral states?" The article hypothesizes that by removing many ambiguities about the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, creates new opportunities for cooperation among littoral states. The present article is of qualitative (descriptive-analytical) type and using methodology (inductive-inferential), the data have been analyzed by library study and documentary analysis.

‍Central Asia and The Caucasus Journal

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Author = hamid Ahmadi

Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea: Legal Regime and Cooperation

Abstract

Iran and Sino-Russian Axis in Central Asia

Abstract

Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and its Impacts on the Cooperation among Littoral States

Abstract