BRUSSELS, June 26. /TASS/. Five member-states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW] have drawn up amendments to the UK draft on changes in the organization's mandate, which would give the OPCW the powers to apportion blame for chemical attacks, Georgy Kalamanov, Russia's Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade representing Russia at a special session of the OPCW said on Tuesday.
"Amendments to the British report will be made on June 27," he said. "There are five amendments. The countries that drew them up are Venezuela, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Burundi."
Kalamanov confirmed the OPCW would hold voting on the UK draft at a session of the special conference underway in the Netherlands from 14:30 through 15:00 Central European Time.
"Introduction of more draft decisions is possible, as it the voting on them," Kalamanov said.
He declined from surmising if the conference participants might vote on the Russian-Chinese draft that envisions the extension of the OPCW mandate.
"It's too early to speak about it yet," he said.
The text of the draft that TASS has obtained suggests Russia and China propose an expansion of technical capabilities of the OPCW missions in what concerns investigations of chemical incidents and assistance to the countries affected by the latter.