TEHRAN, August 18 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has invited President Vladimir Putin to a summit of Caspian nations, the Tehran Times newspaper reported Saturday.
The invitation was made during a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 16, where Iran has observer status. A date for the summit was not mentioned.
Iranian media reported that no meeting between the two leaders had been planned for Bishkek, but that they met informally and had a friendly exchange of views.
The first summit of Caspian nations, which includes Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, took place in 2002. It was decided at the time to hold the second the following year, however it was repeatedly put off until now.
The 2002 summit in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan discussed the legal rights of the Caspian nations to explore the huge oil reserves beneath the world's largest saline lake.
(RIA Novosti)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Iranian president invites Putin to summit of Caspian nations
