Astana, Nov 27 (IANS): Kazakhstan has welcomed the inking of the interim nuclear accord between Iran and the six world powers, terming it an "important contribution to strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime as well as regional and international security".

In a statement, the foreign ministry in Astana said Kazakhstan has "a strong interest in the settling of the situation around Iran's nuclear programme" and hoped that both sides would be able to arrive at a comprehensive solution to the problem.

It said Kazakhstan is firmly committed to the non-proliferation regime and "as a country that voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons it has always supported a political and diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran's nuclear programme".

President N. Nazarbayev's initiative to offer Kazakhstan as the location for holding two rounds of talks in Almaty (Feb 25-26 and April 5-6, 2013) was aimed at contributing to building an atmosphere of trust between Iran and the group of international negotiators as well as giving positive impetus to the negotiations, it said.

Kazakhstan hoped that both sides would observe their obligations under the agreement and offered to provide further assistance for the successful completion of the negotiations, the statement said.

Iran and the P5 1 countries -- the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany inked the interim accord in Geneva Sunday. Iran has agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities in return for about $7 billion in sanctions relief.