The United States is continuing to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile on its territory, where the last two declared stockpiles in the world are located, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based on in The Hague, the Netherlands.
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During a videoconference, the United States reported on the progress of the destruction to the OPCW’s executive board last week, the organization said in a statement. The destruction of the stock in question, the nerve weapons, is done at a facility in Richmond, Kentucky. “The United States is in the process of completing the destruction of its remaining chemical weapons stockpiles in accordance with a decision of the Conference of States Partiesfrom the OPCW, the organization said. “OPCW inspectors monitor and verify destruction progress 24/7“, she added.
“Credible” threat
There remain two declared stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world, both in the United States. As of February 28, 2022, the United States has completed the destruction of 97.65% of its declared Category 1 chemical weapons. All of the United States’ declared Category 2 and 3 chemical weapons have been destroyed, according to the OPCW . Last week, US President Joe Biden warned that a Moscow chemical weapons attack in Ukraine, overrun by the Russian military, was a credible threat. Russia is a member of the OPCW and has said it no longer has a military chemical arsenal, but the country faces pressure for more transparency over the alleged use of toxic weapons.
In 2020, Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny suffered serious poisoning in Siberia, for which he holds President Vladimir Putin responsible. In 2018, former KGB agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned with Novichok in the UK. Moscow has always denied any involvement in both incidents.
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The last use of chemical weapons in a conflict dates back to the war in Syria, which began in 2011. Bashar al-Assad’s regime forces have been repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons, with Moscow denying these allegations his military ally. The Damascus government has always denied the use of chemical weapons and claimed to have returned all its stockpiles to international supervision after a 2013 agreement with the OPCW.