TEHRAN, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is key to international stability and security, participants in a summit of Caspian nations said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The five countries - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, confirmed "the unassailable right of all signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to research, produce, and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, without discrimination, and within the provisions of this treaty, and the safeguards of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]," the statement said.

The second summit of Caspian nations opened in Tehran earlier in the day, and is expected to bring closer an agreement on dividing the resources of the sea between its five littoral states.

The summit held at the Sadabad Palace, a former residence of an Iranian shah, in northern Tehran was preceded by a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.