TEHRAN, Oct. 15--The second summit of the heads of Caspian Sea littoral states opens here on Tuesday.
The presidents of Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are to discuss Caspian Sea issues as well as regional and international topics during the one-day summit.

Nursultan Nazarbayev

According to Iran’s government spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham, the five presidents will sign a statement, which will have a great impact on establishing peace and security in the region, at the end of the summit.
That explains why the western energy companies have also focused attention on this summit, which will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin

Discussion of the final status of the Caspian resources among the five littoral states tops the meeting’s agenda.
An agreement could clear the way for massive new developments, particularly seabed oil and natural gas pipelines, which could dramatically change the region’s economic landscape.
The issue has long divided the five nations. The first Caspian summit held

Ilham Aliyev

in April 2002 in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, failed to determine the states’ share of the waters--either coastline or an equitable 20 percent.
Addressing journalists in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sounded an upbeat note about the meeting.
“The Caspian Sea Summit, which will take place in Tehran, should address a draft declaration of the Caspian states,“ he said, noting that the draft was agreed upon at a meeting of foreign ministers several months ago.
“It records consent on many--I would even say on most--issues that concern the future convention on the Caspian Sea’s legal status. And the

Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov

signing of the declaration by the presidents of the five countries will become a very important step on the way toward the final settlement of all issues of this status,“ he said.
During an interview with Itar-Tass, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Caspian issue should not be turned into a challenge and a reason for anxiety among the Caspian states.
“Turning the Caspian Sea into a zone of friendship and peace is more important than delimitation of its basin. Peoples, living in the Caspian region, have common history, culture and interests. We shall live together in peace and brotherly relations for hundreds of years to come,“ he said.
“The Caspian Sea belongs to all of us. We should find a just distribution to consolidate our friendly and brotherly relations. There are formulas and

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

criteria for delimitation. We believe that by using goodwill and interest of the littoral states, we shall reach mutual understanding.“
In Tehran, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was similarly optimistic.
“A discussion of the legal regime of the Caspian Sea and multilateral cooperation among the littoral states as well as a review of the regional and international issues is the main issue on the meeting’s agenda,“ he said.
“Participating heads of states are expected to issue a final statement at the end of the summit.“
According to the spokesman, during Putin’s two-day visit, Iran and Russia will also discuss bilateral ties plus other important issues such as energy.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Monday the Caspian Summit in Tehran provides a good opportunity for enhancement of ties among the sea’s littoral states.
In a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his delegation in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed hope that by materializing constructive agreements reached in Tehran, Iran and Kazakhstan will further develop their relations, IRNA reported.
“Kazakhstan is a vast country with diverse natural resources. Iran has many religious and cultural commonalities with Kazakhstan. Hence, bilateral cooperation will benefit both the countries and Iran welcomes expansion of ties with Kazakhstan,“ he said.
The leader pointed out that some big powers, including the US, oppose improvement of ties with Iran.
“Iran is presently in a good and suitable situation, and despite pressures of big powers, it has made a great deal of progress,“ Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Nazarbayev, for his part, said Kazakhstan has always pursued expansion of ties with Iran since it considers Iran a powerful country in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a joint press conference with Nazarbayev that Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan will establish a joint railroad network.
He said the three countries have also agreed to build a high-capacity road in addition to the railroad.
Ahmadinejad said he also discussed plans for cooperation in the fields of energy, oil and gas, including establishment of a joint refinery, transit and swap of oil and gas, and joint ventures between private sectors of the two countries.
The Kazakh president said a cordial atmosphere has been created during today’s negotiations in Tehran.
He pointed out that the two countries’ common views have been underlined in the joint communiquŽ, which was signed by the two presidents.
President Nazarbayev noted that since the declaration of independence 15 years ago, Iran-Kazakh relations have been excellent and the agreements signed in Tehran form a basis for cooperation.
During Nazarbayev’s current visit to Tehran, four memoranda of understanding related to cooperation in the fields of library and archiving historical records, shipping and tourism, as well as declaring sisterhood of Iranian port city of Amirabad with the Kazakh port city of Aktau, were also signed.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the US statesmen want Americans to fear Iranians.
Mottaki made the remark in an interview conducted by the Internet site ’Asian Sorus’ on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and before his return to Tehran, ISNA reported.
He noted that this approach might increase the chances of their victory in the upcoming US presidential elections slated for November 2008.
The foreign minister ruled out the possibility of any US attack on Iran in the near future.
Commenting on Tehran’s reaction to a possibility of Washington attacking Iran, he said they know everything about Iran’s reaction because “we have informed them of the same“.
Asked about the US General David Petraeus’ report to the US Congress wherein he claimed that Iran is instigating attacks against the coalition forces in Iraq, Mottaki said the Bush administration is seeking more funds to continue its presence in Iraq and looking for a pretext to justify its illegal presence there.
He noted that one of the main reasons for political instability in Iraq is the fact that Americans refuse to transfer power to the Iraqi government.
“We believe that the Iraqis themselves should shoulder the responsibility of administering their country, particularly in the security field,“ he said.
The foreign minister pointed out that under the prevailing conditions, the Iraqi government knows better than Americans how to treat the Iraqis.
Mottaki asserted that Iran believes the Iraqi situation will stabilize if the administrative power is fully transferred to the Iraqi government.
Asked about recent statements by the investigative journalist of The New Yorker weekly, Seymour Hersh, who wrote that the US standpoint about attacking Iran has shifted to attacking the facilities belonging to the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps rather than Iran’s nuclear sites, he rejected the possibility of any attack on Iran.
On the recent move by the US government and congress to place IRGC on the list of terrorist organizations, Mottaki said the general policies of political groups in the US is regime change in Iran right from the beginning and its approach toward IRGC is continuation of the same policy.

John Dugard

LONDON, Oct. 15--A top UN expert has said he will urge the world body to withdraw from the Quartet of Middle East mediators unless it addresses Palestinian human rights.
John Dugard, the UN human rights envoy for the Palestinian territories, told the BBC the US, the EU, the UN and Russia were failing to protect the Palestinians.
He said the UN “does itself little good by remaining a member of the Quartet“.
In his role as a special UN rapporteur, Dugard has been visiting the West Bank and Gaza for the past seven years.
Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. They are advisers and do not decide UN policy.
“Every time I visit, the situation seems to have worsened,“ he said in a BBC interview.
“I will suggest that the secretary-general withdraw the UN from the Quartet, if the Quartet fails to have regard to the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories.
“This time, I was struck by the sense of hopelessness among the Palestinian people.“
Dugard attributed this to “the crushing effect of human rights violations“, and in particular Israeli restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement.
He said that although Israel did have a threat to its security, “its response is very disproportionate“.
The UN envoy said the purpose of some of the checkpoints in the middle of the West Bank was to break it up “into a number of cantons and make the life of Palestinians as miserable as possible“.
The South African retired professor of international law said the response of the Quartet was weak because it was “heavily influenced“ by the US.
“The Quartet failed to engage properly on human rights,“ he said, “and was also failing to deal with the current rift between the rival Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas.“
The militant Islamist movement Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in June, ousting Fatah, which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Dugard said the rift was threatening the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and that the UN “should be playing the role of the mediator“.
“Instead, the international community has given its support almost completely to one faction--to Fatah,“ he said. “That’s not the role the UN should take.“
For these reasons, Dugard said it might be time for the UN to leave the Quartet.
Dugard said he saw a greater danger--that of the Palestinian Authority raising expectations too high in the Palestinian community.
“If those expectations are not met, I fear there may be serious consequences,“ he added.
“The consequences include the possibility of a third Intifada, a large-scale, violent uprising against the Israelis.“
Dugard said this should be no surprise.
“Inevitably in a military occupation, there are likely to be those engaged in resistance.“
These people may be labeled terrorists, he added, but history treats them differently.
Dugard cited the example of the French Resistance during World War II, and those in Namibia who fought occupation by South Africa.
“Now,“ he said, “they are in government and treated as heroes.“

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the US is creating a wall of mistrust among regional countries, but its efforts to isolate Iran have failed.
Talking to foreign and domestic reporters on Monday, Hosseini was commenting on the US attitude toward Tehran on the threshold of the imminent visit to Iran of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, IRNA reported.
Hosseini said Washington’s wrong policies have caused Tehran to play a more effective role.
“Tehran-Russia bilateral cooperation is based on international rules and regulations,“ he said.
On Iran-IAEA technical talks on centrifuges, he said technical talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials on the centrifuges will begin in the next few days.
The spokesman noted that Tehran will consider any plan upholding Iran’s right to enrichment.
On the Swiss proposal regarding Iran’s nuclear case, he said Tehran has held talks with the Swiss side and the plan has been taken into consideration by the Islamic Republic.
“Tehran’s stand is against suspension and favors the continuation of peaceful activities under the IAEA supervision,“ he said.
Hosseini expressed hope that good news would be released soon about Iran’s nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.
The spokesman said an Iranian-Russian committee was pursuing talks on completing the Bushehr power plant.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 15--Lebanon’s top Shiite cleric, Allameh Seyyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, warned against the so-called Mideast peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland.
Allameh Fadlallah noted that the conference aims to normalize ties between Arab countries and Israel, ISNA reported Allameh Fadlallah’s Office in Lebanon as saying.
“The issue of Palestine has entered a dangerous phase due to its strategic importance,“ he said.
The top Lebanese cleric noted that the plan sponsored by Washington and Tel Aviv is in line with increasing more pressure on the Palestinian Authority and Fatah Movement, as well as preventing any reconciliation between the two main Palestinian resistance groups, Hamas and Fatah.