The Hague, 26 November 2003

The Netherlands Contributes to Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction

On 5 November 2003, H.E. Mr Tiddo Hofstee, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Russian Federation, and Mr Victor Kholstov, Director-General of the Russian Munitions Agency, the agency responsible for the destruction of the declared chemical weapons stockpile in the Russian Federation, signed an agreement on the contribution of 4 million Euros by the Netherlands for the modernisation of an electric sub-station for the supply of electrical power to the chemical weapons destruction facility in Kambarka, (the Udmurt Republic).

As foreseen by the Chemical Weapons Convention, all chemical weapons declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are to be destroyed no later than 2012. In order to meet the deadline stipulated by the Convention, a number of destruction facilities are to be constructed. Due to the significant financial burden the construction poses, several OPCW Member States provide substantial funding to further the destruction of the declared chemical weapons stockpile in the Russian Federation.

Funding provided by the European Union and Germany supports the construction of the chemical weapons destruction facility in Kambarka, which is due to be completed in 2005. The Netherlands will contribute in 2003 and 2004 two million Euros for each year. The contribution by the Netherlands has been made under the auspices of the bilateral agreement with the Russian Federation, signed in 1998 and providing for a total contribution of 11.4 million Euros toward the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile in the Russian Federation.
This is the second project in Russia in this field that the Netherlands has funded. In 2002, the Netherlands had contributed 2 million Euros to finance the installation of a power plant at the destruction facility in Gorny, located in the Saratov region, where the destruction of chemical weapons has begun.

The Chemical Weapons Convention, banning chemical weapons, entered into force in 1997 and mandated the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to eliminate chemical weapons forever, verify the timely destruction of all declared chemical weapons, monitor the non-diversion of dual-use chemicals, facilitate the mutual assistance and protection afforded to all Member States, if any Member State is threatened by or attacked with chemical weapons, and promote the peaceful uses of chemistry. The OPCW now numbers 157 Member States.