Project Sapphire at 30: U.S.-Kazakh Cooperation to Reduce Nuclear Threats

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, weapons of mass destruction materials were scattered far and wide. In 1994, the United States and the Republic of Kazakhstan undertook a secret joint operation, now known as Project Sapphire, to secure large quantities of weapons-grade uranium and stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, as documented in the Netflix miniseries, Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. 

Join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Council on Strategic Risks, and the Embassy of Kazakhstan as we recognize the 30th anniversary of Project Sapphire as key participants reflect on this successful effort and commemorate decades of partnership to address the risks posed by weapons of mass destruction. The discussion will feature Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the United States of America Yerzhan Ashikbayev, former assistant secretary of defense Andrew Weber, and author of Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb, Togzhan Kassenova, a nonresident fellow in the Carnegie Endowment’s Nuclear Policy program. David E. Hoffman, author of The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy, will moderate. A preview of the Project Sapphire miniseries will be shown. 

A light lunch will be provided from 1:00 to 1:30 pm.