The Caspian Sea: quest for a new legal regime

One of the most controversial contests over the allocation of shared natural resources is now being waged by four former Soviet Union republics (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan) and Iran over the riches of the Caspian Sea. The bilateral regime established by the former USSR and Iran governing the Caspian Sea, though technically still existing today, is inadequate to deal with the present-day complex issues of the use and allocation of natural resources. The situation is aggravated by unilateral claims of the states bordering the Sea. Although the coastal states are currently discussing how the regime of the Caspian Sea might be resolved, the issue is not yet settled and the positions of the parties remain divergent.