Kazakhstan ratified protocol on lease termination of Emba test site

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law on ratification of the protocol with Russia on the termination of international treaties governing the lease and the procedure for using Emba test site in the Aktobe region, according to the press service of the head of Kazakhstan, TASS reported.

The Protocol terminates the agreements earlier concluded by Kazakhstan on terms of use and lease of the range, and also provides for the necessary measures to receive and transfer land plots, movable and immovable property of the landfill, transferred to Russia's temporary use.

Reception and transfer of the Emba test site will be carried out by a joint commission formed from plenipotentiary representatives of the two parties. The land to be returned is further planned to be used in the interests of entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture and organizations engaged in exploration and mining activities.

The protocol between Kazakhstan and Russia on measures to terminate the agreement between the two countries on the conditions for the use and lease of the Emba test site (5580 facilities for testing) since October 18, 1996 was signed in Moscow on October 20, 2016.

The withdrawal of the Emba test site from leasing is a continuation of the work on fulfilling the instructions of Kazakh president to review areas of military test sites leased by the Russian Federation.

The Emba test site was established in 1960 and located in the Aktobe Region in Kazakhstan 200 kilometers (124 miles) southward of Aktobe. It was planned to use it for exploratory work and testing of the latest samples of military equipment and weapons.

Russia rents several Kazakh sites for military purposes. Moscow paid Astana $24 million per year for use of four sites: the Kapustin Yar test firing range, the Sary-Shagan and Emba missile testing sites, and the 929th State Test Flight Center.