“Regardless of the wishes of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, as long as the Russia-Ukraine and US-Iran wars continue, the Caspian Sea basin will also be considered a war zone.” Political scientist Elkhan Shahinoglu holds this opinion.
According to Medianews.az, the political scientist explained this in a statement he posted on his Facebook account as follows: “Contrary to the agreement that the Caspian littoral states reached years ago regarding the Caspian, Russia has been using the maritime basin for military purposes, launching missile strikes from there, carrying military cargo to Iran, and Iran has sent drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war via maritime routes.”
It should be recalled that on July 25, Ukraine struck an Iranian commercial ship in the Caspian Sea with a drone strike. As a result, an explosion occurred on the ship, one sailor was killed, and another was injured. The Ukrainian side declared that unmanned aerial vehicles hit a cargo ship under international sanctions in the Caspian Sea, which was used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described this as a "hostile and criminal act." The ministry noted that this attack is a violation of international law and a dangerous attempt to expand the geography of war and instability.
According to some reports, the ship targeted by Ukraine was carrying weapons from Russia to Iran.
No information has yet been disclosed about in which sector of the Caspian Sea the ship was hit.
The Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding the incident. The statement emphasized that attacks on ships in the Caspian Sea are unacceptable: “Turkmenistan, as a Caspian littoral state and a country with a permanently neutral status recognized by the UN, stresses that the Caspian is a sea of peace, agreement, and friendly neighborhood.”
However, E. Shahinoglu believes that the reality is different and that regardless of the wishes of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, the wars are turning the Caspian basin into a war zone as well.
As is known, besides Russia and Iran, there are three other countries located on the shore of the Caspian Sea and encompassing its borders. All of these countries are Turkic states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az