Iran

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met in Almaty on April 24th and reiterated their belief that the best way to transfer Kazakh oil and gas to international waterways is via Turkmenistan and Iran. At a joint press conference, the two presidents told reporters that the shortest, most economical and secure route for this purpose is through Iran.

Khatami said that Iran currently receives Kazakh oil via the Caspian Sea and transfers it for Kazakhastan to the Persian Gulf. He expressed the hope that landlocked Kazakhastan would soon have a fast and economical access to international waterways for its energy exports. Underlining the need for further extending Tehran-Astana cooperation, he said bilateral relations between the two countries are based on mutual respect, non-interference in each other's domestic affairs, pursuit of common interests and fostering peace and security in the entire region, particularly the Caspian.

Strengthening of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) as well as settling problems facing the Caspian Sea littoral states in their common pursuit of peace and security in the region were other spheres of agreement between Khatami and his Kazakh counterpart.

As regards the presence of foreign forces in the Central Asian region, Khatami stressed that it is being justified as part of the war against terrorism, but is nonetheless disconcerting. He recognized the need of countries to try to eradicate terrorism, particularly state terrorism, on a global scale.

The Kazakh President revealed that a project is currently under study for the transfer of Kazakh oil to the Sea of Oman via Iranian territory. He also stressed the importance of balancing trade between the two countries. Expressing satisfaction with the visit of the Iranian President, he expressed the hope that it may contribute to the expansion of bilateral cooperation.

President Khatami arrived in Almaty on April 24th on the second leg of a five-nation Central Asian tour. He is accompanied by Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Kharrazi, Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mostafa Moin, Minister of Roads and Transportation Ahmad Khorram and several Majlis deputies.

The Iranian president had earlier wound up a two-day visit to Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, where he joined leaders of other Caspian littoral states in a summit meeting to discuss the sharing of the sea's resources and decide on the Caspian legal regime. During his stay in the Turkmen capital, Khatami and his Turkmen counterpart, President Saparmurat Niyazov, signed two accords on commercial and customs cooperation.

The president is scheduled to visit Tajikistan, Kirghyzstan and Uzbekistan on the next stages of his Central Asian tour.

During a previous meeting with Nazarbayev, President Khatami reiterated that Iran and Kazakhstan have strong ties in Central Asia, adding that Tehran wishes to expand its bilateral relations with the Astana government. Referring to the Caspian Sea, he said: "Iran and Kazakhstan, along with the other littoral states of the Caspian Sea, must cooperate in maintaining its ecosystem, and in taking advantage of its resources."

President Nazarbayev referred to the great importance his country attaches to the expansion of ties with Iran, adding that Iran plays a decisive role in the region and is one of the most important state in the Middle East. He said there are many opportunities to expand economic ties between the two states in various fields, including the construction of an oil pipeline to transfer Kazakhstan's oil through Iran to the Persian Gulf, which is the most economical way for exporting Kazakh oil.

Speaking in Al-Farabi State University of Kazakhstan on April 25th, President Khatami said that force, violence and military actions are no longer effective in preventing or thwarting threats. He spoke at a ceremony at which he received an honorary doctorate from the University for his efforts to develop friendship between the Iranian and Kazakh nations and to establish democracy and international peace through the ideas of 'Dialogue Among Civilizations' and 'World Coalition for Peace.' Khatami said that all world's nations must now accept the fact that resorting to economic or military coercion will never lead to coexistence, peace or security. President Khatami recalled the September 11th attacks on the US and the genocide of Palestinians by the racist Zionist regime, and described terrorism as a 'catastrophe' of the modern world that must be controlled.

Later, addressing a 63-nation Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, President Khatami called for "dialogue among civilizations." "The world fears that the language of violence and evil will reign and that the Cold War-era will return. The enemies of dialogue think they are the symbols of truth but they only see themselves and don't notice others. They create enemies, they see enemies everywhere and they use their language for confrontation."

Note: Iran is trying to forestall Western and Russian attempts to gain dominant influence in the energy-rich CIS states on the Caspian Sea by penetrating these states itself and creating joint economic projects that will keep them in line. If successful, Khatami's strategy may also hamper the West's ability to use Central Asian energy as a means of exerting pressure on OPEC, of which Iran is a member. Besides, despite his hypocritical denouncement of the September 11th attack on the US, Khatami is preparing the ground for an anti-US coalition of Moslem states — including some in Central Asia — in the event of an American attack on Iran. Iran has been aiding terrorist movements and is on the US list of states doing so.

The talks between the five Caspian littoral states — Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia — about the division of the Caspian Sea resources have produced no agreement to date.

Estimates of the Caspian Sea oil reserves range from 35 billion barrels to 300 billion barrels, as compared with Saudi Arabia's reserve of 260 billion barrels. US estimates put Caspian oil output in 2020 at 6 million barrels of oil a day, yielding an income of some $55 billion a year, though this may turn out to be less than $40 billion if oil prices fall. Western oil companies are already operating in some of the littoral states and are expected to receive a large share of this, but the Iranian intervention may reduce it considerably. As the West and Japan are trying to reduce their dependence on the politically unstable Middle East for oil, this could prove a serious blow — especially if Iran destabilizes Central Asia as well. In December 2001, Colin Powell described the oil reserves in Kazakhstan as being of "critical importance" to Western energy consumers in the near future.