MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Over 60 tonnes of mustard gas were recycled during the first month of operation at the chemical weapons recycling facility in the village of Gorny.
This amount is enough to kill the entire population of a small country, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the governmental commission for chemical weapons recycling, said at an Interfax news conference on Wednesday.
No irregularities were registered at the facility during the first month, Kiriyenko said. Russia is scheduled to recycle 1%, or 400 tonnes, of its military poisons this year. The exact deadline will be determined at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons conference in March.
"The dates are not our priority; safety is the important thing," he said.
Asked about the U.S. president's decision to grant financial assistance for recycling chemical weapons in Russia, Kiriyenko replied that "the decision was largely influenced by Russia's compliance with its commitments. The first large-scale facility in Gorny was launched on time," he said.