Different opinions on division of Caspian Sea

The question of the division of the Caspian Sea into various zones is still unresolved. Iran insists on dividing the sea into five equal parts, one each for Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. However economic expert Magomed Shatoev challenges Tehran’s logic. He states that before the collapse of the Soviet Union both a land and sea border divided the Soviet territories from Iran. When the Soviet Union collapsed no claims were made to its lands and therefore the former Soviet Caspian Sea sector should belong to the countries bordering it which succeeded the Soviet Union, leaving Iran with its Soviet-era sector of sea.

Shatoev considers that the current claims to the sea stem from the fact that it is rich in oil and gas resources.