Czech Republic allots another two million to Russian arms disposal

London, Nov 29 (CTK) - Czech Ambassador to Britain Jan Winkler handed over another two million crowns which the Czech Republic has earmarked for the disposal of Russian chemical weapons to the British Defence Ministry in London today.

The Czech Republic had already allotted the same sum three time before - in 2003, 2004 and 2005 - within the Global Partnership against the proliferation of mass destruction weapons project of the seven most developed countries and Russia (G8 group).

The latest Czech two-million subsidy will be spent on the construction of the Shchuchye base in the Planovoye village in the Urals. The Shchuchye base will neutralise nerve agents, such as VX, sarin and soman, which are stored there and in some other Russian depots.

Russia, along with other countries, signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction in 1997.

Moscow has the largest arsenal of chemical weapons in the world. According to available data, Russians have already destroyed 3 percent of them.

In September, Russia opened the third facility to dispose of chemical weapons at the base Maradikovski in the Kirov vicinity where some 7,000 tonnes of chemicals are stored in bombs and missile heads.

The construction of Shchuchye base, the largest facility for the disposal of chemical weapons, has been delayed due to disputes between Russia and US.