Former Kazakh President Calls for Building New Nuclear Arms Control System

Kazakhstan’s first President Nursultan Nazarbayev has called for building a new global nuclear arms control system, TASS reports.

"There is a need to review the outdated concept of strategic stability based on nuclear weapons and build a new nuclear arms control system. It is important to launch talks on developing a comprehensive nuclear reduction treaty," he said, addressing the award ceremony of the Nazarbayev Prize for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World and Global Security on Thursday.

He highlighted the importance of introducing an effective system of legally binding security guarantees on the part of nuclear powers. "Guarantees should be provided to the countries that voluntarily abandon nuclear weapons and those that have a non-nuclear status. Otherwise, it is at least naive to expect threshold countries to stop trying to acquire nuclear arms. It means that while nuclear powers seek to maintain and upgrade their nuclear weapons, they expect others to abolish and ban them. It’s impossible and unfair," Nazarbayev emphasized.

To hold security discussions, the ex-president invited the leaders of the nuclear powers to hold a meeting in Nur-Sultan. "The global community must find the wisdom to take a decisive step in favor of a dialogue on the future of our planet. This dialogue will be meaningful, if the leaders of the nuclear powers sit down at the negotiating table in the first place. I came up with a formal proposal to major players, primarily the leaders of the United States, Russia, China and other nuclear powers to meet in our country’s capital and find common ground, the way it happened more than once in the past," he stated.

The ex-president pointed out that the heads of the largest states had always assumed responsibility for the future of mankind. "I believe it is the right time now to sit down and reach an agreement, because all conflicts end with negotiations," Nazarbayev stressed.