MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti) – Over three-fourths of Russia’s stockpile of chemical weapons has now been destroyed, the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Monday.
“This is a significant success, taking into account the complexity and scale of the operation. I look forward to visiting one of the sites where chemical weapons are destroyed on Thursday,” said Üzümcü at a ceremony at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) during which he was awarded an honorary doctorate.
The OPCW chief said the two major countries that have chemical arsenals – Russia and the United States – are “making every effort to implement the plans for destruction of chemical weapons.”
By the end of last year, Russia had destroyed 78 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile, about 40,000 tons. The country is disposing of the weapons at a specially-designed facility and strictly fulfilling its obligations to the international community.
