Western Financial Assistance With Chemical Weapons Minimal – Kapashin

MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) – Stable funding is needed in order for Russia to fulfill its obligations in chemical weapons destruction, said Valery Kapashin, the head of the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons.

“The third stage of the chemical weapons destruction program is not a long way off, and we need to complete it by December 31, 2009. There is no doubt that Russia can fulfill its obligations, but regular financing is needed in order for that to happen,” he said.

“God forbid this funding stops. Funding is essential for the fulfillment of the third stage, because it is impossible to build chemical weapons destruction facilities without money,” said Kapashin.

The destruction and processing of chemical weapons is funded mainly from the Russian state budget and foreign assistance in this program is minimal, said Kapashin. “Germany has provided 140 million euro for the construction of a waste decontamination facility in the town of Pochep, Bryansk region, while the cost of the facillity is 20 billion,” he said.

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia has signed, the country was to destroy 1% (400 tonnes) of its chemical weapons by April 2003 and 20% (8,000 tonnes) by April 2007. Those obligations were fulfilled. The third stage envisions the destruction of over 40% of Russia’s chemical weapons (18,000 tonnes) by the end of 2009. All of Russia’s chemical weapons are due to be destroyed by 2012.

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