We stand for peace and prosperity: Senator Kuanysh Sultanov

Astana. February 24. KAZINFORM/Rizvana Sadykova/ Recently Senator, Chairman of the Senate Committee on International Relations, Defense and Security Kuanysh Sultanov?s has delivered his speech at the special debates at the 8th session of OSCE PA in Vienna on the initiative of Russia and France to develop a new European security architecture. We offer to our readers the full text of the speeach.

Dear Mr. President! Dear Colleagues, The world is changing, often putting off our guard. People are not always able to foresee the global changes as it happened with the global financial crisis. There are natural and environmental disasters. Who could predict that the hot African savannah would be covered with the northern snow, and well-groomed, warm cozy quarters of European cities could be weather beaten with merciless hurricane or sunk under the sea waves? It seems that sometimes humankind, even with all new technologies, is helpless in the face of some global processes. But there are some processes that directly depend on the actions of nations, from the mind of public and political figures, from parliaments, international organizations, such as our Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE. We must welcome the humanitarian acts, noble intentions of the leaders of states who wish to enhance security of the European continent. It is good that a new generation of heads of states is overwhelmed with the idea of renewal and wisdom for preserving peace, prosperity of the peoples, nations and civilizations. The world welcomed the Decree of the new U.S. President to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. Many of us remember the heated debate on this issue in the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE, and they were not in vain. Our colleague Anne-Marie Lizin has done a lot to save the world from these monstrous inventions - the secret prisons. Just imagine how the spirits of peoples would revive if Iraqi and Afghani wars stopped, if respect and equality replaced recrimination and threats in Iran? That is why Kazakhstan supports the initiative of the President of Russia to develop a new architecture - the Treaty on European Security, which was reflected in the Declaration of the Moscow session of the CSTO. In my view, it is very timely to adapt the architecture of Euro-Atlantic security to the realities of contemporary international relations on the basis of international law, the UN central role, united and indivisible security for all states. As far as the issue of pan-European summit on launching multilateral negotiations on the Treaty is concerned, we welcome the proposal of the President of France on the preference study of the issue on the platform of the OSCE. This approach will allow us to sensitively reflect the geopolitical changes, to overcome the deficit of trust and a systemic crisis. Kazakhstan, from the very first days of its independence, has consistently advocated the preservation of peace, security, prevention of armed conflicts throughout the OSCE area. Kazakhstan is the initiator of several international activities, which, without exaggeration, one might say, had a positive impact on world politics. President of Kazakhstan took the unprecedented decision to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, and to renounce nuclear weapons. First in the history of mankind, the voluntary renunciation of the country possessing nuclear weapons has been our major contribution to global efforts towards nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. This decision has certainly accelerated the adaptation of a young nation in the world, has strengthened its international position, helped build confidence, attract foreign investment. Kazakhstan has managed to get support of the permanent members of UN Security Council to ensure its own security guarantees. A new step in non-proliferation of nuclear weapons was the Treaty on a zone free of nuclear weapons in Central Asia, which is an important contribution to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, strengthening of security in Eurasia. We reaffirm our eternal commitment to these values. Thank you for your attention.