On September 29th the 4th summit of the heads of state of the Caspian littoral states started in Astrakhan, the Russian Federation.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is attending the Summit.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin welcomed President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Iran Hassan Rouhani, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of Turkmenistan Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov.
The heads of state posed for photographs.
The Astrakhan Summit will discuss a variety of issues, including the legal status of the Caspian basin, the strengthening of security of the sea and joint activities towards the dealing with common challenges, the protection of the unique natural environment and biological resources of the Caspian Sea, topical regional and international matters. The heads of state will review the implementation of the decisions made at the previous summits and determine the main priorities of the development of relations among the Caspian littoral states.
The 1st summit of heads of state of the Caspian littoral states was held in Ashgabat in 2002, the 2nd in Tehran in 2007, and the 3rd in Baku in 2010.

Azertag