Russian Munitions Agency
Russian Armament Agency
Munitions and Special Chemicals Agency
The Russian Munitions Agency [also knwn as the Russian Armament Agency or the Russian Munitions and Special Chemicals Agency] was formed in June 1999 with responsibility for the safe storage and disposal of the Russian chemical weapons stockpile. In June 1999 Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin announced new appointments in the defense sector, apparently made on the basis of suggestions by Ilya Klebanov, the vice premier in charge of military issues. Zinovi Pak was been named as general director of the Russian Munitions Agency
In September 1999 Zinovy Pak, general director of the Russian Munitions Agency, stated that
Russia's ability to honor international commitments to destroy 40,000 tons of declared chemical munitions are "under threat of collapse." In 1996 the Ministry of Defense received only 13 percent of the required funding for scrapping chemical munitions, 2.2 percent in 1997, and 2.1 percent in 1998. In June 1997 the Russian Duma requested an additional $5 billion in foreign assistance for chemical weapons destruction. On 24 April 2000 Zinoviy Pak claimed that Russia would need nearly 100 years to destroy its chemical weapons, unless the current amount of financing to destroy the weapons was increased.
Sources and Resources
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/agency/armament.htm
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Updated Thursday, September 07, 2000 7:00:00 AM
