Italian-Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Agreement Welcomed by the Director-General of the OPCW

The Director-General of the OPCW, Mr José Bustani, today welcomed the conclusion of an agreement between Italy and the Russian Federation by which Italy will contribute $8.3 million towards the destruction of Russian chemical weapons.

The agreement was concluded yesterday during a meeting between the Italian Foreign Minister, Mr Lamberto Dini, and his Russian counterpart, Mr Igor Ivanov. The $8.3 million will be used to destroy chemical weapons stockpiles in the Udmurt Region of the Russian Federation.

"This is an excellent example of the sort of international cooperation that will greatly contribute to the timely destruction of chemical weapons," said the Director-General. "We urge other countries to follow the Italian example."

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) came into existence on 29 April 1997. The verification provisions of the Convention consist of a combination of detailed declaration requirements and routine inspections of declared stocks of chemical weapons and chemical industry facilities, as well as of short-notice challenge inspections at any location under the jurisdiction or control of any State Party. The Organisation monitors the destruction of chemical weapons and of chemical weapons production facilities.

In the nearly three years since it was established, the OPCW has conducted over 600 regular inspections in more than 35 States Parties.

To date, 129 states have joined the Convention, and another 41 states have signed it, but have yet to ratify. The OPCW headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, employs a total of 500 staff members, including more than 200 inspectors, from 64 countries.

01/2000

Categories: Disarmament, Eastern Europe