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Turkmenistan
Caspian Sea Issues
An important goal of Turkmenistan's foreign policy is working
in international groups to solve a range of issues involving the
Caspian Sea. That body of water, which affords Turkmenistan a
500-kilometer coastline with numerous natural resources, including
oil and fish, is threatened by extreme levels of pollution, as
well as fluctuating water levels. In August 1993, Turkmenistani
delegates attended a meeting in Moscow to discuss the status of
international claims to jurisdiction over the Caspian Sea and
its resources. Treaties between the Soviet Union and Iran dating
from 1921 and 1940 gave each country free navigation and fishing
rights within ten miles (sixteen kilometers) of the entire Caspian
coastline, putting other coastal nations at a disadvantage. A
second issue is the cartel formed by Turkmenistan, Kazakstan,
Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to control sales of Caspian caviar
on the world market as a means of preventing individual Caspian
Sea states from selling too much to obtain hard currency. Thus
far, however, the cartel lacks an enforcement mechanism. Turkmenistan
is a member of the Caspian Sea Forum, which includes all the nations
bordering the sea. Until 1995 that organization had not taken
concrete action to limit pollution by oil extraction and shipping
activities of the member countries, however. In late 1994, Turkmenistan
joined Kazakstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia in forming the Caspian
Border Patrol force for joint border security (see Military Doctrine,
this ch.). In 1995 and 1996, friction increased among the Caspian
states as Iran and Russia exerted pressure for the sea's resources
to be divided equally among the group, a formula that would pervent
the other three countries from taking advantage of their proximity
to rich offshore oil deposits.
Data as of March 1996
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