Inside Story

Will the Caspian Sea deal hold?

Five countries have agreed to share resources of the oil-rich, but landlocked, Caspian Sea.

Some call it a sea, others a lake. For decades its status has been questioned.

Five countries – Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan – now agree the Caspian Sea, as it is commonly known, has a “special status.”

They all have coastlines on the water and dispute who owned the area of water.

A deal has now been reached to share the surface and divide up the seabed.

If the new agreement holds, it will pave the way for oil and gas exploration.

Could this lead to a new global energy and political alliance?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Stanislav Pritchin – analyst at the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House

Foad Izadi – professor of world studies at the University of Tehran

Lilit Gevorgyan – country risk analyst at the firm IHS Markit