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THE HAGUE, April 30 (Itar-Tass) -- The
Convention
for the Prohibition of Chemical Armaments (CWC) has marked its tenth
anniversary.
The document was signed between 130
states in
Paris on January 13-15, 1993. A total of 182 states have joined the
convention by now. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) based in the Hague controls the fulfillment of the
convention. OPCW Director General Rogelio Pfirter told Itar-Tass they
had done over 2,800 inspections at more than 1,050 facilities within
the past decade.
The main achievement of the OPCW is
the creation
of a practical, viable and very strict regime of inspections applied
worldwide, Pfirter said. The convention makes this world safer, he
said.
One hundred percent of declared
chemical weaponry
facilities have been decommissioned, and over 90% of them have been
eliminated. The OPCW has controlled the disposal of nearly one-fourth
of the world declared chemical weapons, which amount to approximately
71,000 metric tonnes of war agents. The goal of the complete chemical
disarmament is expected to be achieved by April 29, 2012.
Each country possessing chemical
weapons has its
own disposal schedule. Russia completed another phase of chemical
disarmament and scrapped 20% of its chemical weaponry nine days ahead
of schedule, on April 20, 2007. According to Federal Industry Agency
Director Viktor Kholstov, Russia will build another four chemical
disarmament facilities and destroy the remaining 32,000 tonnes of war
agents by April 29, 2012.
Only 13 countries have not joined the
OPCW. The
organization is supporting their accession to the chemical disarmament
process and the effective accomplishment of the global ban on chemical
weapons.
The celebrations of the convention
anniversary are
underway in member states, but the main events will take place in the
Hague on May 8-9. Queen Beatrix will open a memorial to chemical
weaponry victims on May 9. Russia will display a photo exhibition at
the OPCW headquarters. Itar-Tass is taking part in the project.
The OPCW hopes that Russia will meet
international
commitments and dispose its entire stock of chemical weapons by 2012,
Pfirter said on April 20.
Russia has disposed of 8,456 tonnes of
especially
dangerous chemical agents. Twenty-eight kilograms of lewisite were
disposed at the Kambarka chemical disarmament facility in Udmurtia, and
the last of 4,007 tonnes of air bombs was decontaminated in Maradykovo
in the Kirov region.
Russia has done a lot for achieving
this goal, and the international community acclaims that, Pfirter said.
He visited Kambarka to attend the
ceremony, which marked the end of the second phase of Russia's chemical
disarmament.
The OPCW regards Russia as a reliable
partner and
thinks that bilateral political relations are perfect, he said. The
sides are optimizing technical aspects of cooperation, in particularly,
lessening the number of international inspectors at Russian chemical
disarmament facilities.
The same is being done in other
countries, which
possess chemical weapons, Pfirter said, adding they hope to preserve
mutual confidence.
Six countries have confirmed the
availability of
chemical weapons, which total 70,000 tonnes around the world. Russia
has the largest stock of 40,000 tonnes, while the United States has
27,000 tonnes of chemical weapons. The rest belongs to India, Libya,
Albania and a number of other countries.
The United States pledged the disposal
of 45% of
chemical weapons in 2007, while India said it would destroy 80% of its
chemical arms stock, which is much smaller than Russia's.
Pfirter said they realize that Russia
and the
United States have the largest stock of chemical weapons and will do
most of the chemical disarmament job. However, the OPCW and the world
at large hope that both nations will meet their chemical disarmament
commitments by 2012, he said.
"Russia scrapped 456 tonnes more
chemical weapons
than it was planned by the federal program nine days before the
deadline," deputy head of the Federal Industry Agency Viktor Kholstov
said at the ceremony.
"The Russian Federation realizes that
there is
still a lot to be done before 2012. Another four disarmament facilities
will be built, and the remaining 32,000 tonnes of war gases will be
disposed. Our next target is the disposal of 45% of the overall
chemical weapons stock (18,000 tonnes) by December 31, 2009," he said.
Chemical disarmament facilities will
be developed
in the village of Shchuchye in the Kurgan region, the village of Pochep
in the Bryansk region, and the village of Kizner in Udmurtia. "That
would require coordinated efforts of all power bodies, officials and
experts. We also count on larger international assistance and
understanding of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons," Kholstov said.
Germany will assign 140 million euros
for the
construction of a chemical disarmament facility in the village of
Pochep in the Bryansk region, German embassy counselor Jorg Kirsch told
a Friday press conference.
He said that Germany is satisfied with
cooperation under the Global Partnership program.
"My country assigned 200 million euros
for the
construction of a chemical disarmament facility in Kambarka, and this
project has proven its worth. Russia confirmed its international
commitments by disposing over 8,000 tonnes of chemical agents, or 20%,
on time," he said.
Russia strictly complies with
technological
parameters of the chemical disarmament process, which was confirmed by
German experts who helped to assemble equipment and test run the
Kambarka center, Kirsch said.
The construction of the Pochep
facility will begin
in 2008, and the center will be launched in 2009. Russia is bound to
scrap 45% of its entire stock of chemical armaments by the end of 2009.
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