Russia to allocate $2 bln to eliminate weapons of mass destruction

Russia will allocate at least $2 billion within 10 years for a programme of eliminating weapons of mass destruction, Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists on Tuesday.

The programme was adopted at the previous G-8 summit in Kananaskis, he said. This year, at the summit in Evian, the G-8 leaders analyzed the progress of its fulfilment. G-8 adopted serious decisions related to non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the Russian leader said. "This is especially topical in connection with attempts of terrorist organizations to gain access to weapons of mass destruction," Putin emphasized. "We should not forget that non-proliferation regimes play a key-part in ensuring regional stability," he said.

"Main efforts aim at strengthening legal regimes and mechanisms of their fulfilment," the Russian president believes. Russia has created a special mechanism to coordinate the work on the programme of global partnership headed by the Russian Prime Minister. The international legal basis has also been formed and includes the Agreement on multilateral nuclear-ecological programme of the Russian Federation and a number of bilateral agreements, Putin pointed out.

Russia welcomes "our partners' statements on a possibility to allocate funds for projects envisaged by the Kananaskis agreements," he said. "We believe that these statements should be substantiated by practical action, first of all by a quick coordination of projects in priority directions of global partnership, elimination of chemical weapons, utilization of outdated and scrapped nuclear submarines," the Russian President announced.