Introduction. Since the collapse of the USSR, geopolitical games around the Caspian Sea basin have further intensified interest in the region. Despite periodic brief lulls in the rivalry between the world's superpowers over this territory, tensions have always been present. Strategic cooperation has been made possible by the ongoing geopolitical games over the legal status of the Caspian Sea. As a result, the governments of the Caspian littoral states are increasing their efforts to reach a consensus on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, due to the global growth in demand for energy resources. The aim of the study is to characterize the position of dominance and use of energy resources of the Caspian Sea as the most important elements of geopolitical struggle.
Materials and Methods. International official documents, positions of state leaders, current events have been analyzed. The methodological basis of the research was the study of regional dynamics, considering shifts in foreign policy and the involvement of actors from outside the region. The article also identifies the main principles of multilateral participation of regional governments as well as their priority in decision-making on the main directions of the region's development and issues related to the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
Results. The launch of new infrastructure projects and the development of international platforms for interaction have led to the emergence of new trends with marked differences in recent years, which has shown the dynamics of the processes taking place in the Caspian Sea region. Issues, related to gas and oil transport routes have been the main manifestation of the competition between Russia and the West for the region's energy resources. It is obvious that the states of the Caspian basin and the South Caucasus are developing the foreign security policy.
Conclusion. The independence of new states after the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a reassessment of the legal status of the Caspian Sea. This raised the question of how to use the Caspian Sea to define the borders of the littoral states. Having studied all the different points of view and approaches to resolving this issue, it can be concluded that since the Caspian Sea is an international lake, its legal system should be based on the idea of its division into national segments.