OPCW Responds to Russian Federation Request Regarding Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use Against Alexei Navalny

5 October 2020

THE HAGUE, Netherlands5 October 2020As publicly reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) received on 1 October a request from the Russian Federation to consider dispatching experts from the Technical Secretariat to the Russian Federation in order to cooperate with Russian experts.

On 2 October, OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, responded to this request through a letter addressed to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OPCW. He assured Russian Federation authorities that the Technical Secretariat is ready to provide the requested expertise and that a team of experts could be deployed on short notice.

In his response, the Director-General also sought further clarification from the Russian Federation on the type of expertise contemplated under the Chemical Weapons Convention and relevant OPCW policy-making organ decisions.

The Director-General thanked the Russian Federation for its trust in the Technical Secretariat’s independence and expertise to assist States Parties in their implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and to determine the circumstances surrounding allegations of chemical weapons use.

Background

As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently rid the world of chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

Over 98% of all declared chemical weapon stockpiles (over 72,000 metric tonnes of chemical agents) have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

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