Peaceful transformation of Afghanistan into stable country meets Central Asian interests - Nazarbayev
ASTANA. June 9 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan stands for strengthening Afghanistan's stability and resuming the dialogue on the settlement of the North Korean nuclear problem, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the expanded meeting of the SCO heads of state in Astana on Friday.
"As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017-2018, Kazakhstan will do its best to settle regional and global conflicts together with you. We wholeheartedly support the efforts of the Afghan leadership to strengthen the inter-Afghan political dialogue and to peacefully transform the country into a stable and sustainably developing nation, which will meet the interests of the entire region," Nazarbayev said.
Kazakhstan is a staunch supporter of the idea of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Nazarbayev said. "Hence, we call for the earliest resumption of negotiations on settling the North Korean nuclear problem," he said.
"We have been witnessing escalation and geopolitical tensions in certain regions bordering the SCO. Hence, our Council's adoption of a statement of the SCO heads of state on the joint fight against international terrorism is a timely move," Nazarbayev said.
