Kazakhstan Backs Russian, Chinese Efforts to Prevent Arms Race in Space

Kazakhstan favors the soonest possible conclusion of international agreements to prevent arms race in space.

"We highly praise Russia’s and China’s efforts to develop a draft agreement on preventing an arms race in space. This issue is especially important considering that the number of countries involved in space programs and depending on their implementation is increasing," Kazakh Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin said at a UN conference on disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday.

"As a country on whose territory the Baikonur space center is located and which is involved in international space cooperation and is dynamically developing its own space program, we are convinced that security in space should remain one of the central issues of the conference," Tazhin said.

"Outer space should be peaceful area for the cooperation of all humankind," he said.

Kazakhstan also supports the idea to launch negotiations to draft a treaty banning the production of fissile materials, Tazhin said.