Oslo, 17 July 2002 (RFE/RL) -- Russia will hold large-scale military exercises in the Caspian Sea next month, the Russian defense minister announced today. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, while on a visit to Oslo, said today that all branches of the Russian military will be involved in the exercises.
Ivanov told Russian reporters that the exercises will last from 8-15 August and will involve more than 60 ships -- the biggest in the area since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He said that representatives of the other four nations bordering the Caspian -- Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan -- have been invited as observers.
The five littoral states so far have failed to agree on how to divide the Caspian's oil reserves.
Ivanov told Russian reporters that the exercises will last from 8-15 August and will involve more than 60 ships -- the biggest in the area since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He said that representatives of the other four nations bordering the Caspian -- Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan -- have been invited as observers.
The five littoral states so far have failed to agree on how to divide the Caspian's oil reserves.