Russia ratifies protocol to CANWFZ

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 20 April 2015, President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed a federal law on Russia’s ratification of the Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia (CANWFZ).

The Treaty was signed on 8 September 2006 in Semipalatinsk by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenia and Uzbekistan and entered into effect on 21 March 2009. Kyrgyzstan is the Treaty’s depositary.

The CANWFZ provides for the renunciation by all parties of the possession, production and deployment of nuclear weapons and prevention of such actions by other states on the relevant territory.

At the same time multilateral non-proliferation efforts of Central Asian countries have acquired specific geographical contours: a new nuclear-weapon-free region has been legally registered.

On 6 May 2014, the five nuclear powers signed a Protocol to the Treaty, which commits the nuclear countries not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against the participants in the nuclear-free zone.

In ratifying the Protocol Russia specified what territory it covers to prevent a different interpretation of this provision. Russia also made a traditional stipulation that it will not consider itself bound by the Protocol’s obligations if an attack is launched against it, its Armed Forces or other troops, its allies or a state toward which it has security commitments.

Russia made another traditional stipulation that it will not consider the Protocol binding if a participating state allows warships to enter its ports or aircraft to land on its airfields if they are carrying nuclear weapons or other nuclear devices. The same applies to the transit of these weapons or devices.

“Russia considers the formation of nuclear-weapon-free zones to be an important factor in upgrading nuclear non-proliferation and enhancing regional security and stability,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“We hope these issues will receive the appropriate attention at the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) opening on 27 April,” the statement of the Russian ministry said.

By ratifying the Protocol to the CANWFZ Russia is again confirming its readiness to make a substantial contribution to this process, the ministry underlined.