Abstract

he causes and consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea have been determined. The international initiatives of the leaders of the Central Asian states are considered, the activity of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea is analyzed. It was found that the uncertainty of the legal status of the Caspian Sea, the lack of agreement on the distribution of the bottom of the Caspian Sea and the order of subsoil use have become destabilizing factors in shaping the geopolitical situation in Central Asia. The settlement of the conflicting interests of the Caspian states on a bilateral basis in 1998-2014 is analyzed. It is established that the result of international agreements was the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. This agreement formalized the sovereign and exclusive rights of the parties, the collective use of marine resources and the responsibilities of the parties and paved the way for the construction of submarine pipelines, which will enhance the Caspian Sea as one of the key centers of geopolitical and geoeconomic processes. However, the signing of the Convention on the Status of the Caspian Sea did not solve all the existing problems. Regional platforms set up to address the problems of the Aral Sea have proved ineffective and have not improved the environmental situation in the Aral Sea. The region continues to be a zone of global environmental disaster.