President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated the necessity of a complete ban on the use of military weapons in the Caspian Sea. In his speech at the Regional Environmental Summit in Astana, he emphasized the importance of protecting the Caspian ecosystem to maintain ecological balance and regional stability, Kursiv.media reports.
The head of state noted that the Caspian Sea is under threat, and its protection is extremely important. Kazakhstan has already proposed creating an interstate program to prevent further deterioration of the sea’s condition and has opened the Caspian Sea Research Institute to foster scientific cooperation in the region.
“We urge all international partners to support our efforts to preserve this unique natural asset. Therefore, any use of military weapons in the Caspian region must be excluded and prohibited,” Tokayev is quoted by “Fergana”.
In his speech, the president also touched on the topic of global water cooperation. He reminded that in December 2025 in Ashgabat, a project was proposed to create an International Water Organization, which could become a UN agency.
According to him, this initiative is especially relevant in light of the UN currently reviewing many of its mandates, which opens up the opportunity to strengthen international water resource management. The first round of consultations on this issue will take place within the framework of the summit, which started on April 22 in Astana.
Since 2015, Russia has used the waters of the Caspian Sea to strike at militants of the terrorist group “Islamic State” operating in Syria. With the start of military operations in Ukraine, the Russian army also repeatedly shelled Ukrainian territory from the Caspian Sea using ships with cruise missiles.
In response, Ukraine used long-range drones to attack Russian ships and military facilities, as well as oil field infrastructure in the Caspian Sea region.
