Outcome of the 13th Session of the Conference of the States Parties of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

PRESS RELEASE

On December 2-5, the 13th Session of the Conference of the States Parties (CSP) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) took place in The Hague, Netherlands.

Questions of strengthening the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and the problems in CW nonproliferation and destruction were discussed, with the Conference noting with satisfaction the growth in the number of states parties and improvements in the implementation of the Convention.

Special attention was devoted to the necessity of timely destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles. Conference participants positively assessed the efforts of possessor states, including Russia, in destroying their arsenals of toxic chemicals. As of now, about 42% of the world's stocks have been eliminated. The Russian delegation confirmed that Russia is committed to its CWC obligations and is taking all necessary measures to complete the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles within the specified time – before April 2012.

The Russian delegation's priorities – the necessity of further reinforcement of the chemical weapons nonproliferation regime and the timely destruction of stockpiles of toxic chemicals – were shared by the forum participants and found proper reflection in the Conference decisions.

We positively assess the outcomes of the CSP and are certain that they will facilitate solving the tasks in ridding the world of one of the most dangerous types of WMD – chemical weapons.

December 9, 2008