Sharjah 24 – AFP: US President Joe Biden announced Friday that the US has "safely destroyed" the final munition in the nation's stockpile of chemical weapons.
"Successive administrations have determined that these weapons should never again be developed or deployed, and this accomplishment not only makes good on our long-standing commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention, it marks the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction," Biden said in a statement.
He added that "today, as we mark this significant milestone, we must also renew our commitment to forging a future free from chemical weapons." He called on "the remaining nations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential." "Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks," he remarked.
"We will continue to stand with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to prevent the stockpiling, production and use of chemical weapons around the world," he affirmed.
He continued "together with our partners, we will not stop until we can finally and forever rid the world of this scourge." Meanwhile, the Pentagon said in a separate statement that "this achievement marks the destruction of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague." The OPCW is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international arms control treaty the US ratified in 1997, it indicated. The treaty prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by all members.
It noted that the accomplishment meets the US' commitment to complete its destruction operations by September 30, 2023.
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