Central Asian Nuclear Treaty May Be Ready Soon

Paraphrased by Steve Waldrop
August 26, 2002

The top U.N. disarmament official has signaled that a draft treaty declaring the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia a nuclear-free zone may be ready for signing this year.

The idea to create a nuclear-free zone was originally proposed in the 1997 Almaty Declaration following a summit meeting of the presidents of the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Jayantha Dhanapala, Under -Secrteary General for Disarmament Affairs, who is at the end of a tour to persuade Central Asian leaders to speed up talks, said he was encouraged by the talks and hoped the document would be signed before the end of this year.

While in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, Dhanapala told reporters, "We in the United Nations think that the present historical moment is an opportune one to conclude the treaty in order to signal the stability, the unity and prospects for the future in this Central Asian region."

A nuclear-free zone treaty is expected to lead to international efforts to identify all radioactive sources in Central Asia and tighten control over such sources.