MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax-AVN) - Viktor Ozerov, Chairman of the Federation Council's Defense and Security Committee, prepared an inquiry to the Chairman of the Russian Government titled 'On the progress of the Federal program for destruction of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation.'
"As of today, less than 50% of the budgetary funds, envisioned by the Federal program, are allocated for the destruction of chemical weapons. Due to this, the scheduled terms of the program were shifted for more than four years, which will not allow the country to destroy 8,000 tons of poisonous substances, mere 20% of the stockpile, before 2007, as was declared. This is the main rationale behind my inquiry addressed to the Chairman of the Russian Government," Ozerov told Interfax- Military News Agency Friday.
He also said that insufficient funding would result in Russia's inconsistency to fulfil its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and also might endanger ecological security.
"There are 32,888 wreck chemical munitions, including 11,810 air-launched and 21,078 artillery delivered, which should be urgently destroyed," Ozerov said.
He emphasized that insufficient funding suspends the construction of installations for chemical weapons' destruction.
"It is known that of the six such installations planned, only one was put into operation in the village of Gorny in the Saratov region. Only RUB10bn (USD343.78m) of RUB31.8bn (USD1.09bn) envisioned by the program have been allocated for the construction of the rest five," he said.
According to him, he informed the Chairman of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament of the inquiry. "Chairman of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov approved of the inquiry and said that the upper chamber may also prepare such an inquiry addressed to the Chairman of the Russian Government during the autumn term," he said.