by Cheryl Rofer
The parliaments of five central Asian nations have ratified the Central Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. They are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
This is the newest of the nuclear weapon free zones. The Central Asian states have added some features to their agreement, most notably that all will adhere to the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which specifies a greater degree of transparency and has only recently been accepted by the United States in one of George Bush’s last acts in office.
It’s also significant that these five states are in what could be considered a bad nuclear neighborhood. They’re surrounded by nuclear powers: China, India, Russia, Pakistan and, a little further to the west, Israel.
Treaties on nuclear weapon free zones require protocols from the five nuclear weapons states recognized by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Those states must agree not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against members of the zone. Seems reasonable enough, but the United States has found reasons not to ratify the South Pacific or the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zones; none of the other five have signed on to the latter.
Russia and China have come out in favor of the Central Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, but the United States, the United Kingdom, and France are holding back. Their objection is to an ambiguity that might allow Russia to station nuclear weapons in the zone. Negotiations continue on this issue, which may be more easily resolved now that the United States is no longer allergic to treaties.
William C. Potter, Togzhan Kassenova and Anya Loukianova have more on the subject, including a couple of possible ways around the impasse. Check it out.