Leaders from some 17 countries met in Almaty on June 17 to attend a one-day summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. Host and Kazakh President Nazarbaev called on the assembled leaders to deepen cooperation on a wide range of pressing regional issues, including environmental degradation and poverty. The summit closed with an announcement pledging greater cooperation in the areas of regional security, energy, trade, and counterterrorism. Nazarbaev said regional stability depends on \"the level of economic development\" and also appealed for greater attention to ecological needs. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the summit should seek to further reinforce regional cooperation to combat terrorism and extremism, as well as tackling drug trafficking and organized crime. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia summit also released a statement on June 17 defending the \"inalienable right of countries to have access to nuclear technologies, materials and equipment, as well as using them for peaceful purposes in line with the obligations set by corresponding agreements on [the International Atomic Energy Agency\'s] safety guarantees.\" But that statement also noted the group\'s support for \"the joint efforts of Central Asian countries in creating a zone in Central Asia free of nuclear weapons\" and stressed the importance of broader nonproliferation efforts, specifically commending and encouraging \"the efforts of all countries to suppress attempts by terrorists and criminal groups to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.\" In addition to leaders of the member states, the summit was also attended by a number of representatives from observer states, including the United States, Japan, Ukraine, and the United Nations. The regional grouping, founded in 1992, seeks to foster greater cooperation and security in Asia and its members range from China and Russia to Iran and Israel.(Kazinform)