Iran plans to hold Caspian Summit in August despite conflict

MOSCOW, April 25 (Xinhua):  Iran plans to hold the 7th Caspian Summit despite the ongoing war, Iran's Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told RIA Novosti on Friday.

"At the moment, we are planning to hold the conference," and the event will definitely take place if conditions permit, the ambassador said.

The Iranian government plans to hold the Caspian Summit on Aug. 12 this year, which could be the first potential opportunity for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

The Caspian Summit is a high-level negotiation platform involving the leaders of the five littoral states, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, known as "the Caspian Five".