THE HAGUE, February 20. /TASS/. Russia’s restrictions in the rights in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will lead to the end of the organization in its current form, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the OPCW Vladimir Tarabrin told TASS.
According to him, Western countries "are making every effort to limit Russia's opportunities in various international structures, in particular the OPCW." "However, one should clearly separate their desires and capabilities here," the diplomat pointed out. "Despite the fact that the Westerners, relying on the cruelest bloc discipline in their ranks, try to impose decisions that go against the Chemical Weapons Convention, they do not always succeed. Therefore, they may want to somehow limit Russia's rights in the OPCW, but virtually all States Parties, including our opponents, understand that this would mean the end of the organization in its current form," the diplomat emphasized.
"Of course, we are far from the events of November-December 2023, when Russia was not re-elected to the OPCW Executive Council, but this shows that the countries of the collective West are not abandoning their anti-Russian plans," Tarabrin added. "Nevertheless, Russia's ability to influence decision-making in the OPCW Executive Council in its observer status does not change in principle. In particular, Russia retains the right to publicly express its position on all issues on the OPCW agenda. The country also retains the right to vote in the organization's supreme governing body, the Conference of States Parties, which takes final decisions," the diplomat emphasized.
Earlier, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Protection Troops, said that the United States wanted to downgrade Russia's rights in the OPCW, as it had already done with regard to Syria.