Mr Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
During a visit to Moscow from 10 to 12 March 2009 the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mr Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian officials for discussions on the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In his meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov the Director-General expressed appreciation for the Russian Federation’s firm support to the Convention and work of the OPCW. He provided the Foreign Minister an update on the implementation of the Convention, including the progress being made towards eliminating global chemical weapons stockpiles and the efforts undertaken by the OPCW in other areas of its mandate. The Director-General underlined the importance of universal adherence to the Convention as well as its effective national implementation, and commended the Russian Federation for its implementation of the Convention and close cooperation with the OPCW.
The Foreign Minister expressed his country’s firm commitment to the goals of the Convention and assured the Director-General of Russia’s continuing support for the work of the OPCW. He exchanged views with the Director-General on current challenges involved in implementing the Convention, and both parties noted the high level of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Technical Secretariat.
During his 3-day visit the Director-General also met with Mr G.A. Rapota, Director of the State Commission on Chemical Disarmament, and with Mr M.V. Margelov, Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs, Council of Federation, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.