Great Britain To Assist Russia In Destroying Chemical Weapons

Russia and Great Britain have signed on Thursday in London an agreement stipulating that the British side will assist Russia to fulfil the requirements of the Convention on Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. The document has been signed by British Defence Secretary Geoffrey Hoon on behalf of Great Britain and by Zinovi Pak, the Director General of the Russian Ammunition Agency, on behalf of Russia. Following the signing ceremony, Geoffrey Hoon stated that Russia had taken a very difficult obligation to destroy 40,000 tons of various chemical warfare (CW) agents. In order to assist Russia in this difficult task, Great Britain has made a decision to allocate 12 mln. pounds Sterling during three years. According to the British Secretary, the primary objective of his country is to assist the Russian side in destroying CW agents at the main Russian V-agent processing plant, which will be built in the Shchuchye town, Southern Urals. The first Britain-funded project will be the construction of the water supply system for the Shchuchye facility. The construction will be launched when the necessary funding and relevant technical and finance control schemes are coordinated with the Russian side.