nuclear-armed states

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for renewed negotiations among nuclear-armed states, marking 35 years since the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. He warned that global arms-control safeguards are weakening and urged world powers to return to the negotiating table, drawing on Kazakhstan's history as the site of hundreds of Soviet nuclear tests.

Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a possible technical partner should renewed Iran nuclear talks focus on how enriched uranium is handled. The proposal would give Astana a diplomatic role in a dispute involving Iran and the IAEA, drawing on its own experience as a former nuclear-armed state with established nonproliferation credentials and uranium expertise.

September 26 is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, observed annually at the United Nations. Advocacy groups, including faith-based and human rights organisations, are marking the day with calls for disarmament, urging nuclear-armed states to renew commitments toward a world free of nuclear weapons amid ongoing global tensions.