MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Ammunition Agency and the Finnish Foreign Ministry signed an agreement on cooperation in Moscow on Friday.
Under the agreement, Finland will support implementation of the federal purpose-oriented program of chemical weapons destruction in Russia.
The document was signed by the agency's director general Zinovy Pak and Finnish Ambassador to Russia Rene Nuberg.
"The agreement on cooperation is related to the second stage of the Finnish program of support to implementation of the federal purpose-oriented program. Under the first agreement signed in 2000, Finland gratuitously provided a system of analyzers of combat agents for the chemical weapons storehouse in the town of Kambarka in the inland republic of Udmurtia," Pak told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Under the new agreement, Finland will supply similar equipment to the chemical weapons scrapping facility under construction in the town of Gorny in the Saratov region. Gorny is among the three Russian locations where chemical weapons scrapping facilities are under construction. The facilities will process lewisite, yperite and their compounds. The one in Gorny is to be put in operation in the first half of 2003, Nuberg told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The total volume of Finland's gratuitous aid amounts to nearly FIM6m (USD986,520). FIM2.4m (USD394,610) was provided for equipment supplies to Kambarka. The rest of the funds will be used for equipment supplies to Gorny.
Germany and the European Union also provide funds for the construction of the chemical weapons scrapping facility in Gorny.
The system of poisonous substance analyzers is of great importance for maintenance of security in the chemical weapons storage and destruction zone and adjacent territories. The system will be supplied by the Finnish company that earlier supplied equipment for the plant in Kambarka.
Russia ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction in 1997. It undertook to destroy its 40,000t stocks of chemical weapons by 2007. Later Russia asked for postponing the deadline to 2012.
The Finnish parliament's commission for foreign policy and security authorized the Finnish Foreign Ministry to provide FIM6m for implementing the Russian chemical scrapping program in summer 1996.