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Atambayev takes part in special meeting on problems of uranium heritage sites in Central Asian countries

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Bishkek, Sept. 21, 2017 / Kabar/. President of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev took part in a special meeting on problems of uranium heritage sites in Central Asian countries, which was initiated by Kyrgyzstan and supported by the European Union. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, the press service of the Kyrgyz President reported.

During his speech, President Atambayev warmly welcomed the leaders and members of the delegations participating in the event, representatives of the donor community, international organizations.

"I am very glad to see in this hall international partners who responded to our call to meet here to discuss such an important and topical issue, he said.

The head of state reminded that on the initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic and with the full support of the world community in 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted a special resolution on the problems of uranium legacy in Central Asia. "I am confident that updating of the Resolution allows us to move to a new stage of practical and comprehensive actions to reclaim uranium tailings.

President Atambayev expressed hope that this initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic will find support among partner countries, international organizations and financial institutions.

“The Kyrgyz Republic pays special attention to the timely resolution of the issues of ensuring environmental safety from radioactive contamination and the restoration of the natural environment from the tailing complex," Almazbek Atambayev said.

Atambayev said that this year there were a lot of mudflows, showers in Kyrgyzstan, which led to the ecological danger. "We are directing a lot of funds for protection works. The contamination of the rivers can lead to an ecological catastrophe, and this catastrophe will affect all the countries of the region and will affect their future," he said.

He also said that a number of large uranium tailing sites both in the Kyrgyz Republic and in other countries of the Central Asian region is in close proximity to the rivers and water springs. In case of possible emergency situations at tailing sites, river pollution can lead to large-scale environmental and humanitarian disasters in the region.

President Atambayev noted that in recent years the Kyrgyz Republic has been implementing a number of projects related to reducing the risk of a radiation disaster and improving the environmental situation in areas where radioactive wastes are located.

In particular, with the support of international partners in our region, studies were conducted to assess the impact of facilities on the uranium heritage on the environment.

"In addition, the Kyrgyz Republic, in close cooperation with the IAEA and the Central Asian states develop the Strategic Master Plan for Reclamation of Uranium Facilities in Central Asia, which will become a kind of roadmap for effective cooperation,” he said.

President Almazbek Atambayev thanked for the provided support and effective assistance, which are providing to the country by the European Union, the Russian Federation, UNDP, IAEA, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other our partners.

"In our country there are more than 90 tailing dumps containing 286 million tons of uranium and other highly toxic waste. They are mainly located along the rivers, "Almazbek Atambayev said.

"Unfortunately, the Kyrgyz Republic does not belong to countries where there is oil and gas, and the country does not have enough funds to solve this problem," Almazbek Atambayev said.

In this connection Attambayev said that Kyrgyzstan needs in the support from the international community to solve this problem, both financial and technical.

The Kyrgyz President expressed confidence that today's meeting will make a worthy contribution to the solution of this problem in the region.

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