Caspian Sea states to hold Oct talks in Tehran

Leaders of the five states bordering the energy-rich Caspian Sea will meet for a summit in Tehran in October to discuss long-running disputes over maritime rights, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here yesterday.
The leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan have agreed with Iran to hold the summit on October 16, Ahmadinejad said as he wrapped up a visit to Azerbaijan.
"The participation of the five Caspian leaders in the summit has been confirmed," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. "The Caspian Sea must be a sea of brotherhood, peace and stability."
The five countries have been unable to agree on how to divide up the Caspian since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Iran and Turkmenistan have opposed dividing up the seabed based on the length of each country's shoreline, instead insisting that each of the five states should be allotted an equal share.