The United Nations has welcomed as “an important step” the renewed commitment of the five states bordering the Caspian Sea to protects its marine environment.

The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) said that Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan had reached a crucial milestone by adopting and signing one more protocol to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, also known as the Tehran Convention.

The new protocol, UNEP explained, addresses one of the major ecological threats to the Caspian: pollution derived from land-based sources, such as agriculture and industry.

Ministers from the five Caspian littoral states agree the additional protocol at talks in Moscow earlier this week.

By RFE/RL