| www.chinaview.cn 2003-11-27 22:54:56 |
BRUSSELS, Nov. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Britain, Canada and the Netherlands have taken concrete actions to assist Russia in destroying its chemical weapons arsenal, said the Organization forthe Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Thursday.
The Hague-based OPCW said Britain and Canada recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Moscow on cooperating to support Russia in destroying its chemical weapons stockpiles.
According to the MOU, Canada will provide Russia with 33 million Canadian dollars (25 million US dollars) to be used to finance the construction of an 18-km railway linking a chemical weapons storage depot with the destruction facility in Shchuch'ye of Kurganskaya oblast, and Britain will "manage the funds on Canada's behalf to carry out the work in Russia."
On Nov. 5, the Netherlands and Russia signed an agreement on the contribution of four million euros (4.76 million US dollars) by the former for the modernization of an electricity station supplying power to the chemical weapons destruction facility in Kambarka of the Udmurt Republic, according to the OPCW.
The Chemical Weapons Convention stipulates that Russia should destroy its chemical weapons no later than 2007. Due to shortage of funds, in October 2002, Russia officially requested the OPCW toextend the deadline to 2012.