The Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea: Losers and Winners

The legal status of the Caspian Sea has led to one of the biggest debates since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. After a long period of time, with numerous joint and bilateral meetings, this international crisis ended in 2018 as a result of the signing of a document called the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea (CLSCS). In this article, the winning and losing sides amongst the signatories of the CLSCS were attempted to be determined by taking into account the new de facto situation in the Caspian basin in light of the geopolitical developments since 2018, through an analysis of economic, political, and legal consequences of the convention. This topic was examined through consideration of the motives behind the signatories' political actions, political connections, and the historical context. The articles of CLSCS, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (also known as the Middle Corridor) and The Organization of Turkic States were analyzed in order to determine the various consequences of the CLSCS. In the conclusion of the article, the signatory countries of Russia and Iran were placed on the losing side, whereas the signatory countries of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan were stated to be on the winning side of the CLSCS.