Deputy Director-General Mrs Grace Asirwatham (second from left) with Mr. Roman Kolodkin, Russian Permanent Representative to the OPCW (left); Colonel-General V. Kapashin, Russian Head of the Federal Directorate (second from right); and Mr Mechislav Remishevski, Head, Language Services Branch for OPCW.
The Deputy Director-General, Mrs Grace Asirwatham, visited the Russian Federation on 24 August 2012 to represent the OPCW at a formal event marking the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons. The Deputy Director-General delivered a congratulatory statement at the ceremony in the presence of the Head of the Federal Directorate, Colonel-General V. Kapashin.
The Federal Directorate is responsible for eliminating the Russian Federation’s stockpiles of 40,000 metric tonnes of declared chemical weapons under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It has to date overseen the destruction of two-thirds of these stockpiles, with the remainder scheduled for destruction by 2015.
While in Moscow for the commemorative event Mrs Asirwatham met with V. Kholstov, Head of the CWC National Authority, and V.V. Antonyuk, Deputy Director of the Department for Security and Disarmament of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Mrs Asirwatham commended the Russian Federation for the progress it has made in destroying its chemical arsenal, and for its firm commitment to the goals of the CWC. The two officials agreed on the importance of upholding the provisions of the CWC, and on the need to complete destruction of the remaining stockpile as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest safety and environmental standards.