The Agreement was signed in Astrakhan on September 29, 2014.
The agreement signed by the governments of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan aims to regulate cooperation between the parties in the event of emergencies on the Caspian Sea.
Due to the fact that the negotiations on the new legal status of the Caspian Sea have not been completed yet, the Russian Federation supplements the ratification of the Agreement with a statement that any action to fulfil the Agreement does not imply that the Russian Federation recognises unilateral extension of the littoral states’ sovereignty to the Caspian Sea waters.
The Agreement’s ratification will facilitate development of international cooperation to prevent and contain emergencies, including natural disasters and industrial accidents when it cannot be performed by just one party and requires coordinated efforts of all the parties.