ISSUE OF THE DAY

About Turkmenistan's position on disputed oil fields in the Caspian Sea

The statements of officials which have appeared in the Azerbaijani media last days, as well as the statement of Minister of Industry and Energy Minister of Azerbaijan Natik Aliyev, about the works in the field Serdar by Turkmenistan, reflect the one-sided view of the Azerbaijani side and do not reflect the real situation on this issue. In this regard, the Acting Minister of the Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Turkmenistan K.Abdyllaev commented on this situation to TDH correspondent.

- During the visit of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Azerbaijan, in 2008, was not signed any agreements between the two countries. At the same time, Turkmenistan advanced specific initiatives to solve the problem. Unfortunately, Azerbaijani side did not reply.

Numerous times Turkmenistan has addressed to Azerbaijan with regards to stop the work in the fields of Omar and Osman, since the jurisdiction still was not defined. The work handled by the Consortium AIOC, and such companies as British Petroleum, Chevron, Exxon Mobile, Hess, Inpex, Itochu, Statoil, TPAO, SOCAR in areas with uncertain jurisdiction does not comply with an international law. Eager to conceal the illegal actions in the disputed territories Azerbaijani side is trying to prove the right at the same time violating the preliminary agreement.

In this situation, Turkmenistan has no choice but to turn to the International Court of Justice.

Turkmenistan has maintained numerous times that Serdar field is entirely in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea since the median line is approximately near the meridian 51 degrees 10 minutes east longitude, according to the principles and norms of international maritime law. But abovementioned was challenged by Azerbaijan.

The hullabaloo made by the Azerbaijani media does not contribute to the strengthening of friendly relations between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, and the Turkmen side regrets for this.