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GV EXTERIOR United Nations building
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SV INTERIOR Mexican Ambassador Jorge Castaneda speaking
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Access to and sharing of revenues derived from the enormous mineral wealth known to be in the seabed and ocean floor within the proposed 200-mile economic zone are among the most contentious issues at the conference.



CASTANEDA: "My group is ready to start negotiations with a group of landlocked states on outstanding issues, what's more we took the initiative this morning in the central committee to propose the start of serious, meaningful negotiations with the groups of landlocked states and geographi-cally in disadvantage. We know that this is the most serious problem before the conference and it's of the nature that if it's not solved it will block all possibilities of a treaty. So we're prepared to engage into negotiations and of course the issues are very difficult, regarding some there is perfectly room for accommodation, regarding others I would think that the group of coastal states would want to even consider the sort of proposals which we consider to be totally exaggerated and unviable. But in certain cases of course we will consider (indistinct). Regarding the mineral resources where the opinion of neighbours are legislated and acceptable to all absolutely all coastal states of the exclusive economic zone, and on that we are not there to negotiate on that proposal/




Initials DS/DE/JB/2350


TELERECORDING

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Background: Failure to reconcile differences between coastal and landlocked states over access to marine resources could block all possibility of concluding a treaty on the law of the sea, a United Nations conference was told on Tuesday (3 August).

SYNOPSIS: The warning came from the chairman of the coastal states group, Mexican delegate Dr. Jorge Castaneda, at the Law of the Sea Conference.