Russia asks US to destroy its stock of chemical weapons; alleges 'deliberate delay'

While the western world is cornering Russia for its alleged possession of chemical weapons, Moscow in retaliation has asked the US to turn in its own stockpile of such weapons. Since early March, the US intelligence is issuing warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin might use chemical/biological weapons on Ukraine, a claim which Russia has kept rejecting. In the latest development, the Russian embassy in the US claimed that it eliminated its entire stock of chemical weapons in 2017 and called on the US to do the same. Moscow even alleged that the US is "deliberately delaying" the destruction of 3% of such weapons which pose a grave threat to the world. 

"In 2017, Russia eliminated its stockpile of chemical weapons. This fact was documented by the @OPCW [the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]. (The US) in its turn has deliberately delayed the destruction of the remaining 3% of #CW, which still poses a serious threat to the globe. We call on the #US to liquidate all its #CW (sic)", the Russian embassy wrote. 

The blame game for chemical weapons continue

The blame game for chemical weapons took a new turn after the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control & International Security, Bonnie Jenkins called out Russia to "stop its false claims... and declare all chemical weapons". In a series of tweets, she wrote that the US has made progress in destroying the leftover chemical weapons and would eliminate the remaining 3% by September 2023. "We continue to condemn Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjust invasion of Ukraine (sic)", she added.

Russia, on multiple occasions, has accused the US of supporting Ukraine in developing chemical and biological weapons while rejecting intelligence reports about using them for its own purpose. Accusing the US of funding the development, Moscow has even alleged that Ukraine was seeking to destroy any evidence relating to the weapons. Needless to say, Moscow's allegations were rejected by the Biden administration and Ukraine. US President Joe Biden has even warned Russia of 'severe price' if chemical weapons are used on its former Soviet neighbour. However, it is worth mentioning that it was the alleged development of biological weapons which the US used as a reason to invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein's regime. 

Image: AP