AKIPRESS.COM - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Ashikbayev addressed the plenary session of the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on April 27 in New York.

According to the head of the Kazakh delegation, Kazakhstan is convinced that the NPT is the foundation of the nonproliferation regime and global security, which should be fully strengthened.

Kazakhstan considers it necessary to seek effective and balanced implementation of the three components of the Treaty: nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of atomic energy.

In the face of the deteriorating international situation, it is important to adhere to the fundamental principles of international law: the peaceful settlement of disputes, non-use or threat of use of force, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, Ashikbayev said.

A special contribution of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the global process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation was highlighted, as well as the initiative of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to declare August 29 as the UN International Day against Nuclear Tests, the adoption of the Universal Declaration of a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World and advancement of The ATOM Project.

As co-chair of the Conference on Article XIV of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which will be held in September 2015 in New York, Kazakhstan urged the countries, which have not yet signed or ratified the CTBT, to do so as soon as possible.

It was noted that the signing by the representatives of the five nuclear weapon states in May 2014 of the Protocol on negative assurances to the Treaty on the zone free of nuclear weapons in Central Asia (the Semipalatinsk Treaty) was a historic event in the disarmament sphere of the last decade. In this regard, Kazakhstan welcomed the ratification of the Protocol by France, the UK, Russia, and China and urged the U.S. government to complete as soon as possible the ratification of the Protocol.

Development of peaceful nuclear energy is an inalienable right of each the NPT member country and to this end, Kazakhstan is working closely with the IAEA. Kazakhstan is nearing the completion of a joint project with the IAEA to establish the Bank of Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel under the Agency’s auspices.