MOSCOW. Jan 24: Kazakhstan has demanded one billion dollars in compensation for the dismantling of Its nuclear weapons, whose extracted uranium is to be sold by Russia to a US firm, Izvestia reported yesterday, says AFP.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his der mand during an official visit to Ukraine Friday, the newspaper said.

Under the denuclearization agreement signed by US President Bill Clinton. Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk in Moscow on January 14. Russia is to transform 500 tonnes of heavily enriched uranium extracted from the nuclear warheads of Belarus. Kazakhstan and Ukraine into lightly enriched uranium, which will then be sold to a private US firm for 12 billion dollars.

Ukraine, which agreed to ' give up its entire nuclear arse-of 176 strategic missiles and several bombers, Is to receive one billion dollars for its share of uranium sold, under the terms of the agreement.

Kazakhstan — one- bf four ex-Soviet republics to possess nuclear weapons, along with Belarus. Russia and Ukraine — agreed to dismantle its 104 SS-18 ballistic missiles and the warheads aboard its bombers. It also ratified the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in December.

Belarus, which agreed in a bilateral accord, with Russia to dismantle its 81 SS-25 ballistic missiles by the end of 1994, demanded its share of uranium profits shortly after the tripartite agreement was signed.

The 1992 Lisbon protocol, which renewed the NPT of 1968. designated Russia to inherit the entire ex-Soviet nuclear arsenal.