Russia destroys last chemical weapons
President Vladimir Putin yesterday announced that Russia would destroy its last chemical weapons, hailing the move as a "historic event" and accusing the United States of not following suit.
"Today the last chemical ammunition from Russia's chemical weapon stockpile will be destroyed," Putin said in televised remarks.
"This is truly a historic event, taking into account the huge amount we inherited from Soviet times that was enough -- as experts believed -- to destroy all living things many times over," he added.
"This is a huge step towards making the modern world more balanced and safe."
The Russian president also used the speech to needle Washington, saying the United States was not carrying out its international duties in full.
The world's global chemical weapons watchdog hailed the move as a "major milestone".
"The completion of the verified destruction of Russia's chemical weapons programme is a major milestone in the achievement of the goals of the Chemical Weapons Convention," said Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
He also praised Russian officials for "their professionalism and dedication", adding experts from the Nobel Peace Prize-wining organisation had "verified the destruction."
The last of the Russian arsenal was "destroyed at the Kizner chemical weapons destruction facility in the Udmurt Republic," the OPCW said.
Some 96 percent of all the world's declared stockpile of chemical weapons have now been destroyed, the OPCW added.
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