OPCW Responds to Russian Federation Request Regarding Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use Against Alexei Navalny
In the picture H.E. Mr. Fernando Arias, OPCW Director-General.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands–5 October 2020–As publicly reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) received on 1 October a request from the Russian Federation to consider dispatching experts from the Technical Secretariat to the Russian Federation in order to cooperate with Russian experts.
On 2 October, OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, responded to this request through a letter addressed to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OPCW. He assured Russian Federation authorities that the Technical Secretariat is ready to provide the requested expertise and that a team of experts could be deployed on short notice.
In his response, the Director-General also sought further clarification from the Russian Federation on the type of expertise contemplated under the Chemical Weapons Convention and relevant OPCW policy-making organ decisions.
The Director-General thanked the Russian Federation for its trust in the Technical Secretariat’s independence and expertise to assist States Parties in their implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and to determine the circumstances surrounding allegations of chemical weapons use.