Russia and Azerbaijan Form Working Group to Tackle Caspian Sea Issues – FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia and Azerbaijan have formed a bilateral working group to tackle the problems associated with the shrinking of the Caspian Sea, The Caspian Post reports citing Trend.

During a press briefing regarding the outcomes of Russian diplomatic initiatives in 2024, Lavrov articulated that the bilateral engagement aims to broaden the coalition into a quintet framework.

"We have presently established a bilateral task force and are strategizing to evolve it into a quintet framework, thereby ensuring the engagement of all Caspian littoral states in this initiative. We are also engaging in collaborative synergies on the global platform, of course," he said.

To note, the Caspian Sea is the biggest inland body of water globally, with a coastline measuring 4,237 miles (6,819 km) as of 2017, bordered by five nations: Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. It is the most shallow, with water depths reaching just approximately 4 meters in certain locations. A report from Kazakhstan’s Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology indicates that the Caspian Sea is nearing its historical low of 29 meters below sea level, recorded in 1977; the average yearly level in 2023 has already fallen below this threshold.