In the Russian Federation, Mr Bustani had thorough discussions with the Foreign Minister, HE Mr E.M. Primakov, who informed the Director-General of the personal commitment of President Yeltsin on this issue and expressed the firm hope that, if the issue follows the expected course internally, the Russian Federation will be able to take part in the Second Session of the Conference of the States Parties in December, as a fully-fledged member of the OPCW. He stressed the need for further discussions among Member States on possible measures which would lessen the burden of the costs of verification in countries such as the Russian Federation, which faces a wide range of obligations under the Convention.
The Director-General stated that he was aware of the personal involvement of President Yeltsin in the ratification of the Convention, which reflected the importance attached to this issue by the Russian Federation. He urged early ratification of the Convention by the Russian Federation, which would ensure that Russia would be part of important decisions which will be taken at the Second Session of the Conference of the States Parties in December, especially regarding the costs of verification of destruction and the conversion of chemical weapons-related facilities for peaceful purposes. Mr Bustani also assured Mr Primakov that he was committed to applying the Convention on an equal basis for all States Parties.
During the course of his visit to Moscow, Director-General Bustani also met with Mr G.E. Mamedov, Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr V.P. Lukin, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Lt. General V.I. Kholstov, First Deputy Chief of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces of the Ministry of Defence, Mr A.S. Ivanov, the First Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Convention-Related Issues of Chemical and Biological Weapons, and Mr S.I. Kisliak, Director of the Department for Security and Disarmament Issues of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Bustani also addressed a wide range of questions from representatives of the media.
In addition, the Director-General delivered the keynote address to a conference entitled “Russia towards ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention” organised jointly by Forum “East West” (Switzerland) and the Russian Institute of World Economy and International Relations, in cooperation with the Carnegie Moscow Centre and in partnership with the Government of the Russian Federation and Green-Cross Russia. Mr Bustani took this opportunity to answer a number of questions from Russian parliamentary deputies concerned with the issue of Russian ratification of the Convention.
In the course of all his official meetings and engagements, Mr Bustani emphasised the need for the Russian Federation, as the largest declared possessor of chemical weapons, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a country which plays a major role in global security and disarmament affairs, to ratify the Convention at an early date, in order to take its rightful place in the OPCW. The Russian authorities explained the measures taken so far in this regard. They informed him that the Russian State Duma will consider this issue in early October this year, and assured him that they were working assiduously towards this goal.
In Ukraine, the Director-General was received by Mr Konstantin Gryshchenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the National Committee of Ukraine on Disarmament, who stated that Mr Bustani’s visit will provide a new impetus to intensify the efforts in Ukraine towards ratification of the Convention. Mr Gryshchenko discussed all obstacles to the process in detail, and expressed the firm conviction that these will be overcome shortly and that Ukraine will be able to deposit its instrument of ratification of the Convention in the very near future. For his part, the Director-General emphasized the importance of Ukraine in achieving universality of membership of the Convention, given Ukraine’s chemical industry and its role in regional and global security. He offered the services of the OPCW in working with Ukraine towards an effective implementation of the Convention.
During his short stay in Kyiv, Mr Bustani also met with First Deputy Minister of Defence, Colonel-General Ivan Bizhov, who expressed the support of the Ukrainian Defence Forces for the Convention, and Mr Alexander Gobolov, the First Deputy Minister of Industry, who informed the Director-General about steps taken by the Ukrainian authorities preparing for the implementation of the Convention.
PR17/1997