MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax-AVN) - The percentage of foreign aid in the total amount required for the disposal of chemical weapons in Russia may reach 50%, said Sergei Kiriyenko, chairman of the State Commission for the Disposal of Chemical Weapons.
"Under the program, about two thirds of the funding will be provided by Russia, and one third will come from foreign aid. However, we agreed in Kananaskis that foreign aid may be increased and could reach 50%," Kiriyenko said at a news conference at the Interfax main office on Wednesday.
"In any case, Russia bears the greater share of expenses. In 2000, foreign aid accounted for 20%," he said.
The bulk of foreign aid will be provided by the U.S., he continued. "The agreements that have already been signed provide for U.S. aid amounting to about USD880m," he said.
"The U.S. believes that the chemical weapons disposal facility in Shchuchye plays a key role. It is the largest facility which, on the insistence of the U.S. Congress and State Department, should eliminate all chemical weapons containing organic phosphorus compounds. The terms were as follows: the U.S. finances the construction of the industrial facility and Russia builds the entire infrastructure, including communications and the social infrastructure. But the U.S. froze funds a few years ago, so there is a vast vacant area surrounded by infrastructure under construction in Shchuchye," Kiriyenko said.
"We have asked the U.S. party to make up its mind whether it will finance the construction or not. Not only we are telling this to Americans, other nations do it as well, because Great Britain is financing the gas pipeline to this vacant area, Canada is investing in a power line to it, and the Netherlands in the water supplies. We had to decide whether we are building the facility together with other countries or our agreements are valid," the envoy said.
"We have met all conditions of the U.S. party. In particular, we destroyed (chemical) weapons of categories two and three on time and began financing the facility on our own," he said.
"For instance, Congress made it a condition for resuming the funding of the Shchuchye facility that Russia allocates at least USD25m annually. We spend more on the Shchuchye facility, let alone the rest of the program," Kiriyenko said.
"I think competent people have no more doubts that Russia is able to meet its commitments. However I assume that the U.S. party made the decision in January because they were waiting how we will end the year, whether the plant in Gorny will start operating and how it will start operating. In my opinion, a month of its successful operation was among the most serious arguments for the U.S. administration," Kiriyenko concluded.