|
Turkmenistan does not the have industrial
capability to produce nuclear, dual-use nuclear, or other weapons of
mass destruction commodities.
Turkmenistan did not host Soviet nuclear tests, though
at least one underground nuclear explosion was conducted in 1972 in
Mary Oblast to seal a gushing gas well. An abandoned uranium mine reportedly
exists in northwest Turkmenistan, near Kizil-Kaya.[1]
Turkmenistan has one of the least developed export
control systems in the NIS.[2] Due to its shared borders with
Afghanistan and Iran, Turkmenistan could potentially become a transit point for
illegal exports.
Turkmenistan's military doctrine includes pledges not to possess, produce, or proliferate nuclear arms.[3]
Turkmenistan is a signatory to the NPT
and CTBT.
Sources:
[1] Timur Berkeliyev, "Radiation Wastes and Pollution in
Turkmenistan," Ecostan News, Vol. 5, No. 6, 1 June 1997.
[2] Center for Nonproliferation Studies, The
Export Control System of Turkmenistan (Monterey, CA: Monterey Institute
of International Studies, January 1998), p. 1.
[3] "Turkmenistan Parliament Amends the Essentials of
Turkmenistan's Military Doctrine," Former Soviet Union Fifteen Nations:
Policy & Security, October 1996.{Updated 4/2/2001 KB}
Please see the links below for additional information.
Last updated 26 July 2001
Comments or questions? Contact Kenley Butler at MIIS CNS: Kenley.Butler@miis.edu
|
