Russia Concerned Over Western Chemical Weapons Found In Vietnam, Laos, Panama - Official

THE HAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2018) Russia is concerned that UK and US chemical weapons have been found in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Panama, Georgy Kalamanov, the head of the Russian delegation to the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP CWC) said Wednesday.

"We are concerned that US and UK chemical weapons have been found in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Panama," Kalamanov told the conference.

He called on the OPCW technical secretariat to strengthen control so that CWC member states promptly announced the presence of abandoned or old chemical weapons in their countries.

"We believe that the late or incorrect provision of such information is unacceptable," Kalamanov stressed.

In April, Kalamanov said that the United States was not fulfilling its obligations under the CWC Convention and not informing the OPCW of the abandoned chemical weapons on the territory of other countries.

In particular, Washington did not recognize the ownership of ammunition with phosgene left in Panama, despite the OPCW technical secretariat confirming its US origins in 2002.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force in 1997. The treaty aims to eliminate existing chemical weapons and prohibit its production in the future. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) ensures the implementation of the treaty. All countries that have signed the convention have agreed to abandon the production, storage or use of chemical weapons.