Foreign Affairs Ministry of RK denies information on delivery of uranium to Iran

Astana, December 31, 2009 (Khabar) - The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Kazakhstan has denied information on a possible delivery of uranium ore from Kazakhstan to Iran. It was stressed in the foreign ministry’s statement that having voluntarily renounced the fourth largest nuclear-missile arsenal in the world and having closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan has become one of the universally recognized leaders of the world process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Yerzhan Ashikbayev, official representative, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of RK:
- The Ministry of foreign affairs strongly denies reports in the media regarding Kazakhstan’s involvement in a possible transaction on uranium deliveries to Iran and considers them to be a groundless slur which tarnishes the reputation of our country. Kazakhstan has been strictly following the regulations of the agreement on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the UN Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and corresponding resolutions of the UN security council alongside the principles and rules of the group of nuclear suppliers and continues to do so. All the operations with nuclear materials in Kazakhstan, including our cooperation in the area of peaceful application of atomic energy with other states are under the IAEA’s universal guarantee. In this respect, Kazakhstan counts on the IAEA to give a corresponding assessment to this information which is being spread in the media.