THE HAGUE, June 26. /TASS/. Russia is ready for the debate to counter Britain’s initiative on expanding the powers of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at an extraordinary Conference of the State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in The Hague, Russia’s Chief Negotiator, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Georgy Kalamanov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Of course, we are ready to counter Britain’s initiative. I believe there will be a serious discussion of the solution proposed by the UK and expect other draft decisions to be submitted," he noted.

Russia earlier said it was prepared to submit its project on reforming the OPCW mandate. The UK summited its project on the OPCW mandate in early June, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said. According to Johnson, London suggests empowering the organization to apportion blame for chemical weapons incidents in Syria and taking steps to help states counter the threat of chemical terrorism.