MOSCOW. Nov 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Some $217 million in foreign aid has been invested in Russia's chemical weapons disposal program, said Federal Industry Agency deputy chief Viktor Kholstov.
"At the same time, the actual cost of building chemical weapons disposal facilities in Russia stands at around $3 billion. Thus, the size of the available non-repayable funds accounts for a mere 7% of what we need," Kholstov told a forum on Russia's enforcement of the Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in Moscow on Wednesday.
Russia has signed 28 intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements with foreign countries on cooperation in chemical disarmament, he said.
"Fifteen agreements and other documents that allow us to hope for more than $1 billion in extra funds over the next five years have been signed in the past two years alone," Kholstov said.
Agreements with Italy and Canada are being prepared for submission to the State Duma for ratification, he noted.
Kholstov stressed that the U.S., Germany, Italy, Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands and a few other countries make the greatest contribution to chemical weapons destruction in Russia.
"Making use of the occasion, I would like to express gratitude to all the countries providing assistance to Russia in chemical weapons destruction or those that have made the decision to provide such assistance," he said.