MOSCOW. June 19 (Interfax) - All of Russia's chemical weapons have been scrapped; there was no substance called Novichok amongst them, head of the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry's Federal Department for Safe Storage and Disposal of Chemical Weapons Col. Gen. Valery Kapashin told Interfax.
"Russia disposed 100% of its chemical arms stock by September 27, 2017. There was no Novichok amongst them. I am not even familiar with this word, Novichok. I know that I have scrapped nerve gases VX, sarin, and soman, and blister gases - yperite and VZ," Kapashin said.
As to whether Russia was producing Novichok at all, he said, "Not that I am aware of, I have no such knowledge."
"All that was declared, 40,000 tonnes of chemical warfare agents, the entire range, 100% of them, were destroyed. I can guarantee that. Russia has no stock of chemical weapons, which is attested with an international certificate. Most importantly, not a single human life was harmed in the destruction of so many [chemical weapons]. This is the main result," Kapashin said.