Lavrov to meet with OPCW director general in Moscow

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet on Thursday with Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPSW), the Russian foreign ministry said. According to the ministry, Uzumcu arrives in Russia to watch the closing one of Russia’s last chemical weapons disposal facilities. During the meeting, the sides are expected to discuss Russia’s implementation of its commitments taken under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and issues of universalization of this multi-party treaty. The talks will focus on the OPCW’s chemical non-proliferation efforts, including steps to prevent chemical weapons from getting into the hands of terrorists. Apart from that, Lavrov and Uzumcu will discuss the organization’s development prospects. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is the basic document of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which bans production, development, possession and use of chemical weapons. Signatory states undertake a commitment to declare and destroy their arsenals of chemical weapons and their production facilities. The process is carried out under strict international control. Russia signed the convention in January 1993 having declared about 40,000 tonnes of chemical warfare agents. Chemical weapons destruction is Russia started in December 2002. "About 36,000 tonnes of toxic chemical agents, or more than 91 percent of Russia’s aggregate arsenals, have already been destroyed," chairman of Russia’s state commission on chemical disarmament, Mikhail Babich, said in September 2015. After the talks with Uzumcu, Lavrov will leave for Vienna to take part in negotiations on Syria. Read more