Russia Welcomes Nobel Award for Chemical Arms Watchdog

MOSCOW, October 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia on Saturday welcomed the decision to award the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is currently destroying chemical stockpiles in Syria in line with an agreement reached by Russia and the United States.

“[The OPCW] is one of the most effective international bodies in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The mission that the OPCW, in cooperation with the United Nations, has successfully begun within the framework of destroying chemical weapons in Syria is vivid confirmation of this.”

The Russian statement did not mention the specific criticism that the Nobel Committee made Friday of Russia for failing to honor its own disarmament commitments.

“Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the USA and Russia,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement that announced the OPCW’s receipt of the prestigious award.

Russia has postponed the destruction of its chemical weapons to 2015, citing underfunding. The United States plans to get rid of its stockpiles by 2023.

The OPCW, headquartered in The Hague, oversees the destruction of chemical weapons by signatories of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Only six of the UN’s 193 members are not party to the convention.