Stockpile of chemical weapons in Siberia to be destroyed

A new facility to destroy Russian chemical weapons will officially open on May 29, 2009.  The joint U.S.-Russian project to eradicate the chemical weapons site in the Siberian city of Shchuchye, first proposed in 1996, has been repeatedly delayed. Paul F. Walker of the Ploughshares-funded Global Green USA commented, “This is one of the most historic steps forward ever in nonproliferation. One of the most dangerous chemical weapons arsenals in the world is finally getting demilitarized. And it’s been a long, long time.” As a Congressional aide, Walker took part in a 1994 American inspection of the facility that catalyzed the transformation. His later advocacy work, which was funded by Ploughshares, was instrumental in securing U.S. funding for chemical demilitarization in Shchuchye.