Russia may completely destroy its chemical weapons this year: Official

A Russian disarmament official has said Kremlin may completely destroy its chemical weapons this year.

"If we move at current pace and there are no technological glitches, we will manage to complete the destruction this year," Xinhua quoted Mikhail Babich, the chairman of Russian State Commission on Chemical Disarmament, as saying.

At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Babich said the country is in the final stage of implementing the arms-controlling Chemical Weapons Convention, which was signed by 192 countries and became effective in 1997.

According to Babich, Russia has spent around USD 5.6 billion so far on the chemical weapons destruction.

He said nearly 70,500 tonnes of chemical weapons were stockpiled around the world, of which 40,000 tonnes were in Russia and 27,000 tonnes in the United States, with the rest divided among other countries.