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Central Asian Judoka Take Seven Medals at Lausanne Grand Slam

Judoka from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan won seven medals at the inaugural Lausanne Grand Slam in Switzerland, collecting two golds, two silvers, and three bronzes. The International Judo Federation event, held August 28-30 at the Vaudoise Arena, brought together 513 competitors from 77 countries. The official standings list five medals for Uzbekistan, one for Kazakhstan, and one for Tajikistan. Uzbekistan finished sixth overall, Kazakhstan ninth, and Tajikistan joint 22nd. Uzbekistan Takes Five Medals Central Asian athletes met in two finals and one bronze-medal contest. The men’s under-90 kg final was an all-Uzbek contest, with Umar Bozorov defeating teammate Nurbek Murtozoev. After a closely fought contest, Bozorov countered an attack and threw Murtozoev for ippon. The victory gave Bozorov his second Grand Slam title. He had won his first in Tbilisi in 2025 before taking silver at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam later that year. Murtozoev reached the first Grand Slam final of his career after previously winning silver at the 2025 Asian Championships and bronze at the Tashkent Grand Slam. [caption id="attachment_55168" align="alignnone" width="300"] Men’s -90 kg final: Umar Bozorov (Uzbekistan) vs Nurbek Murtozoev (Uzbekistan) Image: IJF[/caption] Uzbekistan’s other medals came from Arslonbek Tojiev, who took silver in the under-81 kg division, and bronze medallists Samariddin Kuchkarov and Ernazar Sarsenbaev. Tojiev arrived in Lausanne with an established record at senior international level. He took silver at the Tashkent Grand Slam and bronze at the Asian Championships in 2025 and finished fifth at that year’s World Championships. His Lausanne run ended against Kazakhstan’s Abylaikhan Zhubanazar in the second final involving two Central Asian judoka. Kuchkarov, 20, defeated Kazakhstan’s Sherzod Davlatov in the under-60 kg bronze-medal contest. Almost two minutes into golden score, Kuchkarov used sumi-otoshi to record the decisive yuko. The result continued a strong year in which he had already taken bronze at both the Tbilisi Grand Slam and the Asian Championships. Sarsenbaev, 25, secured under-100 kg bronze against Japan’s Tetta Hamada with a sumi-gaeshi. He had taken silver at the Tashkent Grand Slam and bronze at the Asian Championships earlier this year. Zhubanazar Wins Kazakhstan’s Gold In the under-81 kg final, Abylaikhan Zhubanazar and Tojiev remained scoreless for much of the contest, with each receiving one shido. In the closing stages, Zhubanazar used a de-ashi-harai to record the decisive yuko and claim his first Grand Slam title. The 26-year-old Kazakh judoka had already taken bronze at the Paris Grand Slam and Asian Championships earlier this year, following another Grand Slam bronze at the Qazaqstan Barysy event in 2025. His Lausanne victory moved him to eighth in the IJF world rankings in the under-81 kg division. [caption id="attachment_55167" align="alignnone" width="300"] Men’s -81 kg final: Abylaikhan Zhubanazar (Kazakhstan) vs Arslonbek Tojiev (Uzbekistan); Image: The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan[/caption] “Winning my first Grand Slam gold is an incredible feeling,” Zhubanazar said after the final, adding that the result gave him confidence ahead of the World Championships in Baku. Asadulloev Extends Strong Tajik Season Tajikistan added the region’s seventh medal...

2 weeks ago

Glaciers

Tajikistan Glacier Mudflows Warning Issued as Climate Risks Grow

Tajikistan’s government is warning people in several mountainous regions about the threat of “localized and glacial mudflows” in the next few days, highlighting the hazards faced by some communities in a country where glaciers are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change. The warning comes days after a landslide and the collapse of part of a glacier set off catastrophic flooding in Nepal that, according to the official figures on Tuesday, killed more than 1,000 people and left about 4,000 people missing. While the likelihood of a similar event occurring in Tajikistan is difficult to gauge, authorities there are aware of the instability of ice formations in some high-altitude areas and are working with international help to improve monitoring systems. The government’s current warning extends from September 2 to September 4, covering parts of the Districts of Republican Subordination, extending east and north of Dushanbe; the Sughd region, which is further north of the capital; and western parts of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, which covers nearly all of eastern Tajikistan. “Citizens are advised to take precautions against the effects of changing weather conditions,” warned the hydrometeorology agency of the state Committee for Environmental Protection. The hydrometeorology agency, which monitors weather and water, hosted a workshop on August 21 for state scientists and other specialists to learn about an automated tool that can potentially identify emerging lakes in some glacier basins in Central Asia, helping to assess the threat of possible flooding. The tool, which is called Transient Hydrologic Anomalies Weekly, or THAW, uses satellite data and the Google Earth Engine platform to monitor bodies of water. “The tool can draw attention to a potential outburst-hazard and can support the timely identification of lakes requiring further monitoring,” the Tajik agency said in a report on the workshop. The event was jointly organized with the UNESCO regional office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the University of Zurich in Switzerland as part of a regional initiative called Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in Central Asia, or GLOFCA. The threat of flooding from a glacial lake is a different hazard from the sudden collapse of rock and glacial ice that occurred in Nepal. But GLOFCA warns that Central Asia’s glaciers are shrinking at a rate of 0.2–1% per year by volume, increasing the possibility of unstable glacial lakes and related flooding. While many mountainous areas are sparsely populated, experts are concerned about the impact of flooding on vulnerable communities living downstream. GLOFCA says more than 1,000 “high-risk” lakes have been identified in Central Asia, and encourages regional collaboration on monitoring systems. The initiative supports the implementation of early warning systems not only in Tajikistan, but also Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan has more than 60 per cent of Central Asia’s glaciers, covering about 6 percent of the country and providing fresh water to the region, according to the United Nations Development Programme. However, many glaciers in Tajikistan have disappeared in recent decades and rising temperatures threaten many more, posing the threat to mountain communities of “floods, landslides,...

2 weeks ago

Akorda

Erlan Karin’s Appointment Links Reform and National Identity

When President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put forward Erlan Karin for vice president on August 31, he called him “a genuine patriot” with long experience in government. He also stressed Karin’s part in implementing major reforms, his grasp of long-term state strategy and his understanding of Kazakhstan’s prospects for socioeconomic development. Karin has spent seven years in senior posts under Tokayev. He also has a sustained interest in a question that runs through the president’s agenda — how Kazakhstan can modernize while remaining connected to its own history and national identity. Tokayev proposed creating the vice presidency in January as an institution that would “organically complete” a political architecture built over several years. The office would stabilize governance and clarify the hierarchy of power. The presidency, he insisted, would remain “the central pillar of the state system.” Under the new Constitution, the vice president acts on the president’s instructions and represents his position in dealings with the Kurultai, the government and other state bodies. Tokayev has presented political and economic reform as parts of the same modernization program. Opening the first session of the Kurultai, he said the new system should make public institutions more effective and open the way to prosperity. He then described structural economic reforms aimed at sustained growth in citizens’ welfare, including new industries, jobs and modern infrastructure. Karin already knows the institutions with which he will work. His senior positions since 2019 have included presidential adviser, assistant to the president, state secretary, state counselor and first deputy head of the Presidential Administration. In October 2025, Tokayev appointed him to lead the working group on parliamentary reform. Karin later became deputy chair of the Constitutional Commission, giving him experience with the reforms now taking effect. Before the official titles accumulated, Karin taught history and geography at a school in Aktobe. The subject stayed with him. In 2013, he published Balbaltas: From Orkhon to the Caspian, a study of Turkic stone monuments across the steppe. A decade later, he co-authored a catalogue of historical maps of Kazakhstan from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. In a 2023 essay on national identity, Karin connected those interests to state-building. Nation-building, he argued, required state institutions and national identity to develop together. He traced Kazakh statehood through the Golden Horde and the Kazakh Khanate, while describing modern Kazakhstan as a multiethnic and multireligious country. Patriotism, in his account, meant attachment and service to the country, not nationalism or xenophobia. He was most persuasive when he left the abstractions behind. His examples concerned what children encounter in museums and at historical sites, how they learn the country’s history, how the Kazakh language is used and how Kazakhstan appears in books and films. This was national identity as part of daily life rather than an official slogan. Tokayev drew the same connection when he explained why the new legislature was given the historical name Kurultai. Recalling the gatherings at Talas and Ordabasy, he said the choice did not signal nostalgia. It joined Kazakhstan’s...

2 weeks ago

Methane Emissions

Turkmenistan Methane Emissions Under Scrutiny After 192 UN Alerts

UN satellite monitoring has identified Turkmenistan as one of the world’s most serious methane hotspots, with 192 alerts for the country issued over the past year. Three of the six largest leaks detected globally by the system over the past six months were in Turkmenistan, as were nine of the top 50. Eight major leaks have since been stopped after repairs. For Ashgabat, however, the issue is also taking on commercial significance: new EU rules are gradually linking access for imported gas to the European market with its methane footprint. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has confirmed eight cases in which major methane leaks in Turkmenistan were stopped after operators took action. The first two were recorded in November 2024, with further cases confirmed at several oil and gas sites over the following year. In February 2026, two leaks were stopped at Dauletabad, one of Turkmenistan’s largest gas fields. The latest confirmed case dates to March, in Lebap Province, one of the country’s main gas-producing regions. The leaks are detected by the UN's Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), which uses data from more than 30 satellite instruments. After detecting a major methane plume, MARS provides the information to the government or facility operator and then uses satellite observations to determine whether the emissions have stopped. Meghan Demeter, program manager for MARS at UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, called the first repairs an “incredible first step.” In comments to The Guardian on August 31, she stressed that significantly more work remains to be done, saying the repairs did not yet represent a breakthrough in the overall scale of Turkmenistan’s emissions. The scale of the problem is also reflected in data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its Global Methane Tracker 2026, Turkmenistan and Venezuela have by far the highest methane emissions intensities from upstream oil and gas production among major producers. The gap between the best and worst performers is more than 100-fold. Methane intensity measures emissions relative to the amount of fuel produced, allowing producers of different sizes to be compared. According to the IEA, large emissions events visible from satellites are particularly common in Turkmenistan: the country accounts for more than a third of all oil- and gas-related MARS observations in Eurasia. Satellite studies point to a worsening trend in recent years. One found that super-emitter activity on Turkmenistan’s western coast increased by about 8% annually between 2020 and 2023. The IEA’s own analysis shows that emissions from super-emitter events across Turkmenistan grew by more than 15% a year on average over the same period. The study of the western coast also estimated that methane emissions there rose by around 7% annually between 2020 and 2023, broadly in line with growth in natural gas production. Methane has a much stronger short-term warming effect than carbon dioxide. At the same time, it is the main component of natural gas, meaning leaks also represent a loss of fuel that could otherwise be sold. The IEA notes that high emissions intensity...

2 weeks ago

KazMunayGas

KazMunayGas Yuan Bond Offering Nearly Triples in Size

Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) has raised CNY 3.5 billion ($490 million) through its latest Chinese yuan-denominated bond issue, nearly three times the size of its first such offering last year. It is the first time the company has issued a ten-year bond in yuan. The U.S. dollar remains dominant in KMG’s debt portfolio, but the company is increasingly turning to Chinese capital markets as another source of financing. KMG closed the order book on August 26 after two days of investor meetings in Hong Kong. The bonds are known as Dim Sum bonds – yuan-denominated bonds issued outside mainland China, primarily in Hong Kong. The company will place CNY 1.5 billion of five-year bonds with a 2.3% coupon and a 2.45% yield, as well as CNY 2 billion of ten-year bonds with a 2.8% coupon and a 2.98% yield. The coupon is the annual interest rate KMG will pay, while the yield reflects the return investors can expect if they hold the bonds to maturity, taking into account the price they paid. The bonds are due to be formally issued and on September 2. Demand exceeded the offering by more than seven times. At its peak, the order book topped CNY 25 billion. According to KMG, it was the largest order book in the history of Dim Sum bond offerings by issuers outside mainland China and Hong Kong. Investors included banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, and sovereign investment funds. Moody’s assigned the bonds a Baa1 rating, in line with KMG’s own credit rating. Strong demand allowed the company to lower its borrowing costs. When KMG began taking investor orders, it was initially offering interest rates of around 2.95% for the five-year tranche and 3.45% for the ten-year tranche. The final coupons fell to 2.3% and 2.8%, respectively. KMG describes the borrowing cost as historically low for the company in the Eurobond market. For KMG, the Chinese currency debt market remains a relatively new source of financing. Its first Dim Sum issue took place in October 2025. The company then placed CNY 1.25 billion of five-year bonds with a 2.95% coupon and a 3.15% yield. Demand totaled around CNY 3.8 billion. For KMG, the yuan still represents a small part of its debt portfolio. At the end of 2025, 69% of the company’s total debt was denominated in U.S. dollars. Total debt stood at $6.97 billion, down 7.8% year-on-year in dollar terms. Net debt fell from $2.21 billion to $742 million, or by roughly two-thirds. The dollar-heavy structure also reflects the company’s business: a significant share of KMG’s oil revenues is generated in U.S. dollars, which helps offset some of the currency risk from its dollar-denominated debt. The two Dim Sum offerings therefore point more to diversification of funding sources than to a shift in the company’s primary debt currency. KMG said proceeds from the new issue would be used to finance its major investment program. Among the company’s largest projects is the construction of the Silleno polyethylene...

2 weeks ago

Investments

Kazakhstan Investment Portfolio Hits $78.6 Billion – But How Much Is Secured?

Kazakhstan is trying to change not only how much investment it attracts, but where that money goes, directing more capital toward manufacturing, deeper processing of raw materials, and high-tech projects. The main test will be whether announced projects and memorandums turn into financing, construction, and production. Kazakhstan has assembled an investment portfolio of 215 projects worth a combined $78.6 billion, seeking to attract capital into raw-material processing, new manufacturing, and digital infrastructure. However, almost 60% of the announced amount is tied to projects still under development, while about $30 billion – more than a third of the entire portfolio – is associated with the planned Data Center Valley in Ekibastuz. The government presented the new investment cycle on August 31. If all the projects are implemented, they are expected to create more than 88,000 jobs. But the full $78.6 billion is far from guaranteed. Of the 215 projects, 93 worth $32.2 billion are under implementation, while another 122 worth $46.4 billion are still under development. The government has not specified the extent to which either category has already received financing or investment. A separate investment-agreement mechanism is available for major projects worth more than 32 billion tenge (about $69 million). Since its launch in 2021, Kazakhstan has signed 66 such agreements worth more than 17.8 trillion tenge ($38.5 billion), including 25 worth approximately 4.4 trillion tenge ($9.5 billion) as of August 2026. An investment agreement and inclusion in the Kazakh Invest portfolio therefore do not mean the same thing. AI Project in Ekibastuz Tops Investment Ladder The largest component of the new portfolio is far removed from Kazakhstan’s traditional investment projects. Data Center Valley is being developed near the Ekibastuz GRES-1 power station to accommodate large-scale computing capacity, cloud services, and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The authorities estimate expected investment at about $30 billion. That represents roughly 38% of the entire $78.6 billion portfolio. The area allocated for the future zone has been expanded from an initial 200 hectares to 1,400 hectares, while available power capacity is expected to increase gradually from 300 MW to 1 GW. The $30 billion figure, however, represents expected investment rather than the cost of projects that have already secured financing. The largest specific package announced so far came in June, when the Kazakh government, U.S.-based Firebird, and NVIDIA signed agreements on artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure worth $10 billion. Firebird is the investor and NVIDIA the technology partner. The plan calls for a computing cluster of around 100,000 advanced GPUs. The first phase is scheduled to launch in 2027. The authorities expect the complex, once fully operational, to generate at least $3 billion in annual export revenue. Another potential participant emerged in late August. Singapore-based Energy Capital Global is considering a separate AI campus with an initial IT load of about 100 MW and the potential to expand to 1 GW. The project’s cost has not yet been disclosed. Petrochemicals Remain Second Center of Gravity Despite the emphasis on technology, Kazakhstan’s largest industrial projects remain closely...

2 weeks ago

Government

Kazakhstan Vice President and Prime Minister Approved by Parliament

Kazakhstan has begun its first major round of senior appointments since the new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, started work. On August 31, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Erlan Karin as vice president, retained Olzhas Bektenov as prime minister, and moved Aida Balayeva from the cabinet to the Security Council. Karin, who had previously served as first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, was the most significant appointment. The vice presidency in its current form was established under Kazakhstan’s 2026 constitutional reform. The post itself is not entirely new to the country: it existed during the first years of independence before being abolished in 1996. Under the new Constitution, at the president’s instruction, the vice president represents the president in interactions with the Kurultai, the government, and other state bodies. If presidential powers are terminated early, the vice president is first in line to assume them. The Kurultai must announce a presidential election within seven days, with the vote to be held within two months of that decision. Karin’s appointment therefore establishes, for the first time under the new system, who would assume presidential powers if the presidency became vacant before the end of a term. Karin is regarded as one of Tokayev’s closest advisers. He has worked alongside the president since 2019 and has served as presidential adviser, state secretary, state counselor, and first deputy head of the Presidential Administration. The creation of the vice presidency does not establish an independent political center alongside Tokayev. Instead, one of his most experienced political aides has taken the new constitutional office and become first in line to assume presidential powers if the office becomes vacant. Olzhas Bektenov, who has headed the government since February 2024, retained the post of prime minister. The Kurultai approved Bektenov’s candidacy by 137 votes, with seven abstentions and none opposed, after which Tokayev formally reappointed him. Meanwhile, Aida Balayeva left her posts as deputy prime minister and minister of culture and information to become deputy chair of the Security Council. Balayeva has long worked in Kazakhstan’s domestic policy establishment. She has served as an assistant to the president, deputy head of the Presidential Administration, minister of information and social development, and, since 2023, minister of culture and information. She now moves from the government to a body working directly under the president. The Kurultai replaced the Senate and Mazhilis, ending more than 30 years of bicameral parliament in Kazakhstan. All 145 members of the new chamber are elected through party lists. In the first election on August 23, the Adilet party won 71.17% of the vote and secured 110 of the 145 seats. Four other parties cleared the 5% threshold. With 110 seats, Adilet has enough deputies to approve presidential nominees requiring a simple majority without support from other parties. Under the new Constitution, however, the Kurultai has a formal role in senior appointments. Its consent is required for the appointment of both the prime minister and vice president, while most other government appointments follow consultations with the chamber....

2 weeks ago

J-10CE fighter jets

Uzbekistan J-10CE Fighter Jets Confirmed in Official Footage

Uzbekistan has publicly unveiled Chinese J-10CE fighter jets for the first time, ending months of speculation over the aircraft’s arrival in its air force. Official footage shows at least six aircraft carrying Uzbek military markings. For three decades, Soviet-designed MiG-29s and Su-27s have formed the backbone of Uzbekistan’s fighter fleet. The country has now become the first Central Asian state to operate a modern Chinese fighter and the second confirmed foreign operator of the J-10CE after Pakistan. The first reports of a potential J-10CE purchase appeared several months before the aircraft were publicly unveiled. Confirmation came on August 28, when footage marking the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence showed Chinese-built fighters carrying Uzbek insignia. Uzbekistan’s Defense Ministry subsequently released its own video of the new aircraft. At least six J-10CEs have now been publicly shown, while earlier reports that Uzbekistan had ordered 24 aircraft remain unconfirmed. The need to modernize the fleet has been apparent for years. Much of the country’s combat fleet consists of Soviet-designed aircraft, but open sources do not establish how many are currently combat-ready. GlobalMilitary.net, which updated its Uzbekistan inventory in July 2026, lists 38 MiG-29s, 25 Su-27s, and 13 Su-25 ground-attack aircraft as active. The J-10CE gives Uzbekistan a modern platform as an alternative to relying exclusively on aging Soviet-designed fighters. The export version of China’s J-10C is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and can employ modern Chinese guided weapons. But the significance of the acquisition goes beyond the capabilities of the aircraft itself. Switching to a new fighter type requires training pilots and engineers, securing spare parts and munitions, maintaining engines and electronics, and, over time, developing domestic maintenance infrastructure. In combat aviation, choosing a new platform can create a relationship with its supplier that lasts for decades. In Uzbekistan’s case, some of that infrastructure could build on existing military cooperation with China. Tashkent previously acquired Chinese FD-2000 air defense systems, the export version of the HQ-9. In 2019, the Uzbek military conducted the first publicly reported live-fire tests of the systems. Chinese military analyst Zhang Junshe told the Global Times on August 31 that the six aircraft displayed could be the first batch of a larger delivery. The newspaper also raised the possibility of integrating the J-10CE with Chinese-made ground-based air defense systems through data links. Diversifying Beyond Russia The J-10CE acquisition, however, does not necessarily signal a sudden Uzbek shift from Russia to China. Tashkent has long diversified its military procurement and operates equipment from multiple suppliers. This is particularly visible in transport aviation. Alongside Soviet-designed Il-76s, An-26s, and An-12s, Uzbekistan has acquired European Airbus C295s. In February 2026, Brazil’s Embraer officially identified Uzbekistan as the previously undisclosed customer for its C-390 Millennium and the first operator of the aircraft in Central Asia. Fighter aviation had been different. For decades, the MiG-29 and Su-27 were the staples of its air force. China has now entered this segment for the first time. It is therefore premature to speak of...

2 weeks ago

ISKP Islamic State – Khorasan

Islamic State Khorasan Province Expands Reach Beyond Afghanistan

More than a decade has passed since the formal emergence of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). For Central Asia, the history of this group is especially significant: the region features prominently in its propaganda and recruitment, and people from Central Asian countries have become part of transnational networks linked to ISKP. Today, ISKP must be assessed as more than an armed group operating in Afghanistan. Over the past decade, it has repeatedly lost leaders, been driven from most of its original territorial strongholds, and endured several major campaigns against it. Yet it has not disappeared. The current iteration of ISKP differs markedly from the organization that tried to establish itself in eastern Afghanistan in 2015-16. The main change is that it has learned to survive and spread its influence without controlling substantial territory. This transformation makes it especially important for Central Asia. Distance from the Afghan border and the number of districts under the group’s control are becoming less important measures of the threat. Its ability to maintain transnational ties, address audiences in local languages, and use migrant and digital networks is becoming more important. A large body of recent research, including a recently published monograph by the Usanas Foundation, makes it possible to trace this transformation. The group’s decade-long history is important for what it reveals about changes in the modern terrorist threat: loss of territory and a decline in membership do not necessarily mean an organization will disappear. ISKP did not emerge in a vacuum. Its original core was formed largely by members of existing jihadist organizations. They included former commanders of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Taliban members, and representatives of other groups who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State’s leadership after the organization emerged in Iraq and Syria. On January 26, 2015, Islamic State officially announced the creation of its “Khorasan Province.” Eastern Afghanistan became its main territorial base. This choice was no accident. Significant Salafi communities and religious networks had long existed in the region. Their development can be traced at least to the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s, and by 1990, Kunar Province already had its own Salafi political-religious movement, which briefly established the Islamic Emirate of Kunar. These networks should not automatically be equated with jihadism, but the presence of an established religious milieu and long-standing tensions between some Salafis and the Taliban gave ISKP more favorable conditions for its initial recruitment and entrenchment. The initial strategy largely replicated the Islamic State model in Iraq and Syria. ISKP sought to do more than carry out terrorist attacks. It tried to establish itself on the ground, build bases and its own control structures, collect local revenue, and demonstrate an ability to impose an alternative order. It was an effort to implement a specific territorial project. That effort to establish a territorial foothold soon became the group’s main source of vulnerability. From the middle of the decade, ISKP came under pressure from several adversaries at once. The armed forces of the former Afghan government and the...

2 weeks ago

Semipalatinsk Test Site

Tokayev Calls for Nuclear Talks 35 Years After Semipalatinsk Closure

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for negotiations among nuclear powers and urged faster action to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, designed to prohibit all nuclear test explosions, into force as Kazakhstan marked the 35th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on August 29. The date also marks the International Day against Nuclear Tests, established by the UN General Assembly at Kazakhstan’s initiative in 2009. “Our country’s position as one of the leaders of the global anti-nuclear movement remains unchanged. We call for negotiations among nuclear powers, the earliest possible entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and decisive multilateral action to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons use,” Tokayev said. He said Kazakhstan’s decision to relinquish the world’s fourth-largest inherited nuclear arsenal reflected a choice in favor of peace, security, and sustainable development. Tokayev also said nuclear energy should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, linking the country’s referendum-backed development of nuclear power to its long-term economic, scientific, and technological development. A Call After New START’s Expiry New START, the last U.S.-Russian strategic nuclear arms treaty, expired on February 5, 2026. On-site inspections, paused by mutual agreement in March 2020 because of the pandemic, never resumed. Russia blocked inspections in 2022 and halted treaty-required data exchanges after suspending implementation in 2023. The treaty’s expiry removed the last legally binding bilateral limits on deployed U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces, with no successor agreement in place. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has still not entered into force nearly three decades after opening for signature. It has been signed by 188 states and ratified by 179. Ratification by nine of the 44 states whose ratification is required for the treaty to enter into force is still needed. China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the United States have signed but not ratified. India, North Korea, and Pakistan have not signed, while Russia revoked its ratification in 2023. Speaking at a Stimson Center event in Washington on August 26, co-hosted by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and attended by The Times of Central Asia, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made a broader case for renewed engagement. “This is an era for diplomacy,” Grossi said, arguing that growing international fragmentation has made diplomacy more necessary. Tokayev also brings direct experience to the issue. Before becoming president, he served as a UN under-secretary-general and director-general of the UN Office at Geneva, the UN secretary-general’s personal representative to the Conference on Disarmament, and secretary-general of the Conference on Disarmament. Disarmament in Practice The Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests at Semipalatinsk between 1949 and 1989, causing lasting damage to human health and the environment in surrounding regions. After independence, Kazakhstan transferred the nuclear warheads on its territory to Russia, joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon state, and worked with the United States to dismantle associated infrastructure under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. Much of that cooperation took place through the program commonly known as Nunn–Lugar....

3 weeks ago

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