-Caveat Lector- http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010613/wl/russia_chemical_weapons_1.html Wednesday June 13 12:48 PM ET Chemical Weapons Probed in Former USSR By JUDITH INGRAM Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) - Russia and other former Soviet republics have about 500 hidden dumps containing old and undeclared chemical weapons, a scientist and ecological activist asserted Wednesday. The government dismissed the claims as ``delirium.'' Lev Fedorov, president of the Union For Chemical Safety, called on the Russian government to announce the alleged sites' existence and begin destroying the weapons, which he says contain mustard gas and other chemicals produced between 1915 and 1946. ``Our country is not answering its international obligations,'' Fedorov said at a news conference. ``Our country is not answering its obligations to its own citizens.'' Signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified by Russia in 1997, agreed to destroy all chemical weapons stores. Fedorov said he found information on the dumps in military archives. Some have already been partially excavated, he said, including one in the Moscow district of Kuzminki. He estimated that up to 22,000 tons of the weapons could have been ``forgotten'' by the military. Officials at the Russian Munitions Agency, which is responsible for destroying the nation's chemical weapons stores, vehemently denied Fedorov's claim. When Russia signed the agreement, they said, it opened the country to inspections to verify its chemical weapons stores. ``It's obviously delirium,'' said Alexander Gorbovsky, deputy director of the agency's department for Convention-related chemical and biological weapons problems. He said there were seven sites when Russia ratified the chemical weapons document. ``There were more stores earlier,'' he said, ``but that's history that is 60-70 years old.'' However, Gorbovsky acknowledged that there could be cases of environmental contamination resulting from former chemical weapons storage sites. The Russian Cabinet meets Thursday to discuss a draft program for destroying the 44,000 tons of chemical weapons it has officially acknowledged, including deadly nerve agents, stored at seven storage sites. Russia is far behind schedule in eliminating the weapons, and has appealed repeatedly for foreign funds to speed up the effort. The government has estimated the cost of destroying the weapons at $7 billion, though Munitions Agency head Zinovy Pak has said costs could be cut in half. Last week, Russian officials and foreign diplomats traveled 975 miles southeast of Moscow to Shchuchye, a town in the Ural Mountains region where the biggest chemical weapons destruction facility is planned. The U.S. government has set aside $888 million to help Russia destroy chemical weapons stores, but Congress has withheld funding for construction at Shchuchye for two years to prod Russia and European nations to increase their share of funding. Some members of Congress are also skeptical of the security threat the weapons pose to the United States. The real danger, they contend, is potential leakage and environmental damage in Russia. ======================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ======================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
