NEWS RELEASES

October 21, 2005 (12:30 p.m. EDT)
No. 190

CANADA TO CONTRIBUTE AN ADDITIONAL $55 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE TO DESTROY CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN RUSSIA

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced a contribution of $55 million for the destruction of chemical weapons in Russia. The contribution is part of Canada’s overall commitment of up to $1 billion over 10 years toward the G8-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.

“Keeping chemical weapons—and other weapons of mass destruction—out of the hands of terrorists and those who would harbour them is a key element of Canada’s international security agenda,” said Minister Pettigrew. “This contribution, like all others under the Global Partnership, represents a tangible investment in our national and international security.”

Canada’s funds will provide equipment critical to accelerating and completing the destruction of chemical warfare agents and munitions at the Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility in Shchuch’ye, in central Russia. This project will eliminate approximately 1.9 million artillery shells filled with highly lethal nerve agents.

This equipment builds on earlier contributions to the Shchuch’ye project, including the construction of a railway to ensure safe transportation of the chemical weapons from the storage area to the destruction facility, and support for other critical industrial infrastructure projects.

“To address a threat of such global significance, a true Global Partnership, in which the resources and efforts of many countries are combined, is required,” added Minister Pettigrew. “In this regard, Canada’s cooperation at Shchuch’ye is part of an international effort with the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia and other smaller partners.”

This project will be managed in partnership with the U.K. Ministry of Defence. The United States is funding the construction of most of the Shchuch’ye facility, at a cost of some US$1 billion. In addition to funding important infrastructure projects at Shchuch’ye, Russia is currently operating one chemical weapons destruction facility at Gorny and is working on building five others.

Russia has the world’s largest stockpile of chemical weapons. More than 40,000 tonnes of these, mostly modern nerve agents, are stored at seven sites. Destruction of these stocks is a key requirement of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and an important part of the global fight against weapons of mass destruction proliferation.

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A backgrounder is attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca

Backgrounder

CANADA TO CONTRIBUTE AN ADDITIONAL $55 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE TO DESTROY CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN RUSSIA

At the G8 2002 Kananaskis Summit, leaders united to launch the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. They agreed to raise up to US$20 billion to support cooperation projects, initially in Russia, to address the threats posed by the Cold War legacy of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials.

Assistance with the destruction of Russian chemical weapons is one of the four main priorities of the Global Partnership. The other priorities are nuclear and radiological security, the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines, and the redirection of former weapons scientists. Canada has announced that it will contribute up to $1 billion over the 10 years of the Global Partnership in support of projects in all four priority areas.

Since its inception, the Global Partnership has included an outreach component to encourage and facilitate the participation of non-G8 countries in this cooperative threat reduction initiative. Canada played a leading role in encouraging more countries to join the Partnership as donors. The Global Partnership currently counts 21 countries and the European Union as donors.

Destruction of chemical weapons stocks is a key requirement of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), not least because of the risks of proliferation.

Canadian Chemical Weapons Destruction Assistance

At the end of the Soviet era, the Russian Federation inherited a massive arsenal of chemical weapons (CW). At approximately 40,000 metric tonnes, Russia’s declared stockpile of Category I chemical weapons is the world’s largest. Destroying these weapons, as Russia has undertaken to do, pursuant to Articles I, IV and V of the Chemical Weapons Convention, will be both a costly and lengthy undertaking. The CWC requires all States Parties possessing chemical weapons to destroy them in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.

A key facility for the destruction of Russia’s chemical warfare agents is being built close to the town of Shchuch’ye in the Urals region. Canada considers the Shchuch’ye chemical weapons destruction facility (CWDF) to be the top CW priority, as it will destroy Russia’s most lethal and proliferation-prone chemical weapons. The arsenal consists of 5,440 tonnes of the deadly nerve agents sarin, soman and VX, which are stored in more than 1.9 million artillery and rocket-launched munitions. The artillery shells pose a particular risk because they are small enough to be carried and are thus especially attractive to terrorists. The Shchuch’ye arsenal contains enough agents to kill everyone on earth several times over.

Before the Global Partnership was formed, Canada contributed $5.35 million to infrastructure projects at the destruction facility in Shchuch’ye. These projects included the design and construction of access roads to the site’s industrial area; construction of a spillway structure on a hydraulic engineering complex; construction of a 110 kV power line to supply electrical power for the CWDF; and co-funding, together with Italy, of a 105-km natural gas line that will supply gas service to the facility.

Under the Global Partnership, Canada has committed $33 million for the construction of an 18-km railway connecting the chemical weapons storage depot near Planovy to the destruction facility at Shchuch’ye. The rail spur is required to safely and securely transport the approximately 1.9 million chemical munitions from storage to destruction. In February 2005, Canada secured an additional US$1 million contribution from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a non-governmental organization, to support construction of the railroad at Shchuch’ye. The NTI funds are being applied to the construction of a bridge across the Miass River.

Canada has also committed $10 million for further key industrial infrastructure projects at Shchuch’ye, including the construction of a local warning system and inter-site communication lines.

Canada is contributing the funds for its Global Partnership projects at Shchuch’ye through the United Kingdom’s bilateral agreement with Russia to benefit from their experience and administrative capability in CW destruction and facilitate coordination among major donors. Under the terms of the Canada-U.K. Memoranda of Understanding signed on November 19, 2003, and January 18, 2005, the United Kingdom is responsible for implementing Canadian-funded projects at Shchuch’ye, in consultation with Canada.

For more information on Canada’s Global Partnership Program, please consult http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/foreign_policy/global_partnership/.