Kazakhstan says ‘urgent need’ to stop Daesh obtaining nuclear weapons

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — A unified global front is urgently needed to prevent terrorist groups like Daesh from obtaining nuclear weapons, Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov has said. 

“We have fears that if nukes get in their hands they will use them immediately to kill hundreds and millions of people,” Idrissov said at a recent meeting with journalists in Astana.  

Despite global efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and material, they are still available and spreading, said the minister.

“There is a famous saying that says if there is a rifle hanging on the wall, one day it will shoot… Therefore, if there are nukes in the world, some of them can get loose and some of them can get into the hands of these crazy people, so the prime task is to get rid of these nukes. This is the best solution,” said the Kazakh official.

“As we still continue to have huge amounts of nuclear weapons, the danger of these weapons getting into the hands of these thugs will always be there... we have to remain vigilant and have strong policies and practices to prevent them,” said the minister.

Idrissov also urged unified and deepened coordination in the ideological fight against Daesh.

“Those groups of barbaric gangs are insane. They are absolutely outrageous... No one normal in the world can accept their ideology and all world countries need to work hand in hand to eliminate them,” said the minister.

Stressing that the support of Russia and the US is crucial to defeating the group, the minister said more efforts were also needed to fight the ideological battle against the terrorists.

“Some are falling victim to their well-crafted and diabolically smart activities and propaganda over the Internet, but we have to face that as well. Those groups dwell on the unhappiness of young groups. They play it very smart,” he warned. 

At the meeting, Idrissov stressed his country’s keenness to boost cooperation with Jordan in various areas.

Jordan is signatory to a joint action plan with Washington to combat the smuggling of nuclear and radioactive materials and to strengthen Jordan’s capacity to detect and prevent attempts to smuggle these materials. 

The plan is part of His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative to strengthen the world’s capacity to stop the smuggling of these materials, launched during his participation in nuclear security summits in Seoul and the Hague in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

The King’s initiative was supported by 39 countries as well as international organisations.