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Untitled Document Swiss Support for Chemical Disarmament in the Russian Federation Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland January 28, 2004
Today in Moscow Switzerland and the Russian Federation signed a framework agreement on Swiss support for chemical disarmament in the Russian Federation. Switzerland plans to spend a maximum of 15 million francs over a five-year period for this support in Russia
The framework agreement was signed in Moscow today by Anne Bauty, chargée d'affaires (A.I.) at the Swiss embassy and Viktor Kholstov, General Director of the Russian Agency for Munitions. This agreement is in line with the decision by members of both chambers of the Swiss parliament on 3 March 2003 to spend 17 million francs on the worldwide destruction of chemical weapons. It was the parliament's wish that the bulk of this money was to be used for projects in the Russian Federation. The agreement sets out in detail the conditions for this co-operation.
Switzerland is internationally active in efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. It is a contracting party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1993, which states that all chemical weapons must be destroyed by 2012 at the latest. Delays in the disposal of 40,000 tonnes of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation are endangering the punctual implementation of the convention. Several countries have therefore made funds available to facilitate the destruction of these weapons.
Promotion of disarmament is a central element of Swiss security policy. The stockpiling of chemical weapons is a threat to international security because of the risk of certain substances falling into the wrong hands, for example those of extremist groups. There is also a considerable risk of contamination of the environment as a result of leaks from chemical weapons.
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