Russian legislators ratify weapons destruction accord with Canada

MOSCOW (AP) - Legislators in Russia's upper house of parliament Wednesday ratified a Russian-Canadian accord that will help Russia destroy its chemical weapons and decommission nuclear submarines.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that under the agreement, which was signed last June and ratified by the parliament's lower house on Friday, Canada will initially provide Russia with about $300 million Cdn.

The agreement is part of the Group of Eight wealthiest nations' program on fighting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Under the program, Canada has agreed to provide a total of $1 billion over 10 years.

Russia, which has the world's largest stockpile of chemical weapons, signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, pledging to eliminate its arsenal within 10 years. However, Russia won international agreement to postpone the deadline until 2012 because of a lack of funds.

More than 20 countries, including G8 members, have pledged money for the program.