Moscow - Iran and Turkmenistan were on Wednesday discussing how to divide up the large reserves of oil and gas in the Caspian Sea as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a visit to his Central Asian neighbour. The two countries have the same views on a future cooperation in the Caspian Sea, "which should become a sea of friendship and harmony," Ahmadinejad said in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
The countries which border the Caspian - including Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in addition to Iran and Turkmenistan - have been squabbling for years over the status of the inland sea and how its territory should be divided up.
On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov stressed the good partnership that existed between the two countries.
Berdymukhamedov said he appreciated Iran's willingness to see ties develop further in an amicable and brotherly fashion.
After Russia, Iran is Turkmenistan's second largest purchaser of natural gas.
Following Ahmadinejad's two-day visit, the two presidents are due to travel together to Kyrgyzstan where they plan to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that starts Thursday in Bishkek as observers.
The SCO was founded in 2001 and consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
