Russia
Receives Third of U.S. Money for Chemical Weapons Destruction — Expert
Created: 23.07.2004 16:20 MSK (GMT +3)
MosNews
Only one third of U.S. money for the destruction
of chemical weapons comes to Russia, the chairman of the state commission
on chemical disarmament, Sergei Kirienko, said on Friday.
“Of means provided by the United States, only 30 percent reach Russia. 70
percent is spent by American organizations that control and revise this assistance,”
Russian Information Agency Novosti quoted him as saying.
Speaking to journalists, Kirienko said it was necessary to increase the financing
of the chemical disarmament program from the Russian budget. He expects that
the financing will be doubled.
Russia plans to destroy 20 percent of its chemical weapons by 2007. All its
resources (almost 40,000 tons) must be destroyed by 2012, the agency quoted
Kirienko as saying.
He added that insufficient financing was responsible for getting behind schedule
in the construction of a facility for the destruction of chemical weapons
in Shchuchye.