KAZAKHSTAN REJECTS RUSSIA´S CASPIAN SEA DOCTRINE.

Kazakhdeputy foreign minister Vyacheslav Gizzatov told Interfax July26 that Almaty wants the early adoption of an international conventiondividing the Caspian Sea into national sectors. Gizzatov disputedMoscow´s contention that the 1921 and 1940 Russian-Iranianagreements legalize "joint use" of Caspian resources,noting that those agreements only refer to fishing and navigation,and he rejected Russian suggestions that Almaty was taking thisposition because of US pressure. Kazakhstan will not accept Russia’sefforts to define that sea as a lake and thus promote "jointuse." By demanding such a redefinition of the existing useof the Caspian, Gizzatov said, Moscow "seeks to control theresources which belong to other countries."

Turkic Countries Prepare for Summit.