Turkmenistan
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has not yet joined the TPNW
Status
Turkmenistan has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position
In July 2025, the minister of foreign affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, proposed at a cabinet meeting that the government explore the possibility of acceding to the TPNW. The president, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, subsequently approved the proposal and instructed the minister to take appropriate measures for its implementation.
Turkmenistan has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
TPNW negotiations
Turkmenistan did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.
In 2016, Turkmenistan voted in the first committee of the UN General Assembly in favour of a draft resolution that ultimately established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Prior to the adoption of the TPNW in 2017, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction not subject to a comprehensive, globally applicable treaty prohibition. Turkmenistan supported calls in the UN General Assembly fill this “legal gap”.
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has not yet joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
Status
Turkmenistan has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position
In July 2025, the minister of foreign affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, proposed at a cabinet meeting that the government explore the possibility of acceding to the TPNW. The president, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, subsequently approved the proposal and instructed the minister to take appropriate measures for its implementation.
Turkmenistan has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
TPNW negotiations
Turkmenistan did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.
In 2016, Turkmenistan voted in the first committee of the UN General Assembly in favour of a draft resolution that ultimately established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Prior to the adoption of the TPNW in 2017, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction not subject to a comprehensive, globally applicable treaty prohibition. Turkmenistan supported calls in the UN General Assembly fill this “legal gap”.
Further information
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