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Russia Vows to Destroy Chemical Weaponry as Scheduled
Russia will meet the deadline of year 2007 for destroying its arsenal of chemical weapons in accordance with its international commitments, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov said Friday.
Klebanov, responsible for the defense industry in the government, will visit later Friday the town of Shchuchye in Russia's southern region of Kurgan, where a plant will be built for destroying phosphorus-organic chemical weapons.
According to Klebanov, this year's state budget will increase money for chemical disarmament by six-fold to 3 billion rubles (101 million U.S. dollars).
In particular, 25 million dollars will be appropriated for the Shchuchye project, he said.
Russia ratified in 1997 the convention on banning the development, production, accumulation and storage of chemical weapons, a pact signed by 143 countries.
Klebanov said Russia will do everything possible to destroy its arsenal of chemical weapons before the deadline despite the unfavorable economic situation.
The Interfax news agency quoted government sources as saying the disarmament work will cost some 90 billion rubles (3.1 billion dollars). The United States, Germany, Britain, Finland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland are providing aid to Russia for the work.
Russia will build another plant to destroy chemical weapons from 2001 in Gornyi city of Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
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