OPINION 

Russia and China Hate the West More Than They Want to Contain Nuclear Weapons

Managing growing nuclear threats is one of the most critical challenges facing the next U.S. president.

The necessity of preventing nuclear weapons proliferation no longer binds the great powers. The United States needs novel approaches to address this challenge.

In the past, Moscow, Beijing, and Washington, D.C. would compartmentalize differences and cooperate to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons.

Now, the leaders of Russia and China are sacrificing proliferation safeguards to secure advantages against the United States and its allies.

Policymakers in Russia and China still advocate nonproliferation in principle, but in practice they hate the West more than they want to contain nuclear weapons.

For example, the Russian and Chinese governments seemingly welcome how, through their proliferation provocations, Iran and North Korea divert Western resources, generate commercial and diplomatic opportunities for Moscow and Beijing.

They also seemingly welcome the strain U.S. alliances, highlight Western weaknesses, amplify Russian and Chinese narratives, and erode the pillars of the rules-based international order.

The United States has enhanced cooperation with traditional allies to oppose these Russian and Chinese strategies.

For example, the G7, NATO, and other Western coalitions have launched new initiatives to counter nuclear threats.

Though beneficial, Washington needs to supplement these traditional ties with expanded cooperation with non-Western governments having exemplary nonproliferation records.

Partnering with a broader coalition of countries in the so-called Global South, where Russian and Chinese propaganda has made substantial inroads, can fortify nonproliferation regimes under strain.

Kazakhstan, which has supported all major nuclear nonproliferation treaties and agreements, is a natural U.S. partner in this endeavor.

A new report by The Council on Strategic Risks highlights how Kazakhstan eliminated all the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union, joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapons state, and promoted a Central Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.

Kazakhstan has also led a global movement against nuclear weapons testing, which led the UN General Assembly to designate Aug. 29, 2023 the day Kazakhstan closed its Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site, the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

The founding president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was in power until 2019, designed and implemented these policies.

Kazakhstan demonstrates how a cooperative and transparent nuclear policy can elevate a country’s global status, reputation, and influence.

Last year, the international community elected Kazakhstan as the Chair of this year’s session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference.

By eschewing nuclear weapons and pursuing international cooperation against common nuclear threats, Kazakhstan has escaped the economic sanctions and political isolation that have befallen Iran and North Korea due to their proliferation provocations.

Under Nazarbayev, who made nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation a foundation of the country’s foreign policy, Kazakhstan and the United States developed a storied record of critical nonproliferation cooperation.

The two governments transferred more than a half-ton of weapons-grade uranium to the United States and diluted other nuclear material in Kazakhstan so that it was less directly usable in nuclear weapons.

The most prominent joint endeavor was “Project Sapphire,” which relocated over 500 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (sufficient for some twenty nuclear bombs) to secure storage at the Oak Ridge complex.

More recently, Kazakhstan, the United States, and other partners established the world’s first international low-enriched uranium fuel bank under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The repository can provide countries seeking reactor fuel a safer, cheaper, and more secure supply than building their own fuel-fabrication facilities, which they can misuse to make nuclear weapons.

Though collaboration has extended to many other issues, nonproliferation has remained a cornerstone of Kazakhstan’s partnership with the United States.

Both governments regularly profile Kazakhstan’s exemplary nonproliferation policies as a blueprint other countries should follow.

They have jointly sought to induce Iran and North Korea to accept Nazarbayev’s proposal to curtail their uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing activities and instead rely on the safe and secure supply of uranium fuel from Kazakhstan’s fuel bank.

The United States would benefit from several of Kazakhstan’s recent nonproliferation initiatives. Astana’s efforts to strengthen nonproliferation cooperation among Central Asian states help advance the U.S. goal of enhancing these countries’ autonomy from Russia and China.

Current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s projects to prevent nuclear weapons tests can help mobilize support against any resumption of Russian testing following Moscow’s recent decision to “de-ratify” the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

The proposed nuclear weapons database, with a universal reporting template, could resolve some of the opacity regarding China’s massive nuclear buildup, which is triggering substantial worst-case thinking in Asia and Washington.

Kazakhstan’s support for a nuclear-weapons-free zone in Northeast Asia helps keep the pressure on North Korea to curtail its nuclear program.

Kazakhstan and the United States could also re-launch the nuclear security summits process, extending the framework to promote more rigorous standards and accountability for dangerous nuclear material and biological pathogens.

The two countries’ growing exports of nuclear energy and biotechnologies increase their interest in keeping this commerce safe and secure.

Thus, Kazakhstan’s commitment to a safer world could be a model for the Global South regardless of the superpower competition.

Prof. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is the associate dean of the College of Public Affairs and past executive director of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Baltimore. Opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on X @ProfSheehan

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.