MOSCOW. Feb 10 (Interfax-AVN) - The quadrilateral workgroup, which met in Moscow on Tuesday, discussed funding and timeframe of the Shchuchye chemical weapons disposal facility construction, and the prospects of involving other states in assisting Russia in disposing its chemical weapon stock.
"This workgroup was established in November 2003 by Russia, the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada to coordinate cooperation, pertaining to construction of a chemical weapons disposal facility in Shchuchye in the Kurgan region," a press-service official of the Russian Ammunition Agency told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Viktor Kholstov, director general of the Russian Ammunition Agency, reported on the construction of the facility in Shchuchye.
"The Russian side will earmark RUB5.360bn (USD188.4m) to the federal chemical disarmament program in 2004. The funding of the program is quite stable. Funds allocated have not been reduced y- o-y 2003. A total of RUB800m (USD28m) have been earmarked for construction of the facility in Shchuchye. These assets will be used to fund construction of industrial facilities, the chemical weapons disposal workshop, and infrastructure facilities," Kholstov said.
Addressing the meeting, an official of the U.S. Department of Defense emphasized that the U.S. had allocated USD190.3m for constructing production facilities in Shchuchye. Canada has earmarked CAD30m (USD22.6m) for constructing the railway in 2004, while Britain is allocating GBP3m (USD5.6m) to complete the power system.
According to Kholstov, Russia has signed a number of agreements and treaties with such Western countries as Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Poland in the past six months, which confirms that the cooperation in the sphere of chemical disarmament is expanding, and that western countries are eager to assist Russia in disposing of its combat chemical agent stock.
The next meeting of the workgroup is slated for May 25-27. It is to be held in St. Petersburg and is to be chaired by Great Britain.