Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Euro-American Affairs, Ali Ahani, said in Baku on Monday that the Caspian states are independent and do not need mandatory statements.

He was referring to the statement by the U.S. Under-Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones in Baku who denounced Iran for stopping Azerbaijan's surveying in the Iranian territorial waters in the Caspian Sea. Ahani told reporters that the U.S. official's statement indicated that the White House sided with Azerbaijan in the current dispute with Iran in the Caspian Sea. He said that the Caspian States should develop their relations on mutual respect and long-term interests of the regional nations. He added Iran and Azerbaijan are two friendly and neighborly states with longstanding cultural and religious amity adding that the two countries should settle their dispute through peaceful means. Iran always sought negotiations, he said. Ahani pointed to the mock flights of the Turkish jets over Azerbaijan on Monday and said that according to the Turkish officials, the program (to this effect) had been designed last year and has nothing to do with the Caspian issue. He added Tehran believes that the Caspian states should regard the Caspian Sea as the common territory among the five littoral states and avoid any unilateral action in the sea which will further complicate the situation. Ahani said that the Caspian states should make endeavors to approve the legal regime for the landlocked sea as quickly as possible. He said that the five states have made consultations in the past over the legal regime of the Caspian Sea adding that the five states should seize any opportunity to reach the conclusion soon. Asked about the visit of the Iranian delegation to Baku, he said that the visit is taking place at the invitation of the Azeri officials to hold bilateral negotiations about the Caspian Sea and the regional issues. He said that the complicated issue of the Caspian Sea is the centerpiece of his talks with the Azeri officials in Baku.