This is the story behind the news.

On October 17, 2007 an historic accord was signed by the nations bordering the Caspian Sea… Iran, Russia,  Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Representatives of each state, including Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Russian President Putin came together to discuss how to divide the huge, proven oil and gas reserves in the shallow waters of the Caspian sea.

They made progress in solving the thorny issues of who gets how much of what. But the real work was done regarding military relationships between those nations. They created a mutual agreement that resulted in a non-aggression pact between the signatory powers.
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