NIZHNY NOVGOROD. Jan 30 (Interfax-AVN) - The United States will allocate USD50m from the national budget for the construction of the chemical weapons scrapping facility in the town of Shchuchye in Russia's Kurgan region this year.
An agreement on the matter was achieved by Sergei Kiriyenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy to the Volga federal district and chairman of the state chemical disarmament commission, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, a spokesman for the envoy's administration told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
"Our joint program envisages construction of the largest facility for scrapping chemical agents containing phosphorus in the town of Shchuchye in the Kurgan region. The U.S. budget for the current year allocates USD50m for these purposes," Kiriyenko said after the meeting.
The parties agreed that a group of U.S. experts would arrive in Russia on February 26 to consider technical details of the project. "The paperwork must be completed by May 2002, i.e. by the time U.S. President George Bush arrives in Russia," the envoy said.
"Besides, experts are likely to consider attraction of additional funds for the construction of the Shchuchye facility this year," Kiriyenko went on. The funds are expected to make another USD50m.
The envoy praised the intention of the U.S. administration to resume the financing of the program of chemical weapons destruction in Russia. The total volume of the U.S. aid is to make USD600m, excluding earlier provided funds.
At the same time, the parties agreed to coordinate their stances regarding the strengthening of the chemical nonproliferation regime and to do their best to speed up the chemical weapons destruction.
"Russia and the United States have a common point of view on measures that must be taken against international terrorism. As long as all chemical weapons are not destroyed, there is a possibility that they can turn up in the hands of terrorists, which may have extremely grave consequences. That is why the destruction of the entire chemical weapons stock is a priority in the policy of both nations," Kiriyenko said.
Cheney and Kiriyenko exchanged opinions on the new level of relations between Russia and the United States. Cheney said that the U.S. leadership would never forget that Russia was the first nation to offer assistance after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and Putin was the first president to telephone President George W. Bush after the tragedy.
Having completed negotiations with Cheney, Kiriyenko met with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.