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American Morning

Russia Struggles to Dismantle Chemical Arsenal

Aired June 12, 2001 - 10:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, a chilling holdover from the Cold War: an arsenal so lethal it frightens not only potential adversaries, but the very government that possesses it. And too much in-fighting and too little cash, stand in the way of defusing this looming threat.

Our Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty explains.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A terrifying legacy of the Cold War: chemical weapons, nerve agents like sarin and VX; just one drop can kill you. Russia has 40,000 tons of chemical weapons, the largest stockpile in the world. Moscow, along with the U.S., signed a treaty to destroy these weapons, but fights between Russian federal agencies, along with the cost, an estimated $6 to $10 billion, have stalled that destruction.

So as this rare military film shows, the weapons sit at seven storage sites, packed into shells and missile warheads, ready for action; vulnerable, experts say, to theft by terrorists or by underpaid, disgruntled Russian soldiers.

(on camera): This is the danger: a small artillery shell that looks like this, filled with lethal doses of sarin nerve agent, something you could fit in a backpack, could potentially kill thousands of people.

(voice-over): U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, an expert in defense issues, is one of the few outside Moscow who has seen Russia's chemical weapons up close.

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: The buildings within which these weapons are located are, in some cases, 60 years old. They are wooden buildings. They have glass windows.

DOUGHERTY: The United States, along with nine European nations, is helping Russia to build a chemical weapons destruction complex hear the town of Shuchye, 1,000 miles east of Moscow. The U.S. has pledged $888 million, but has paid only $260 million. The U.S. Congress claims Russia hasn't done enough on its own. The head of Russia's chemical weapons destruction commission says that's no longer the case.

SERGEY KIRIENKO, CHEM. WEAPONS DESTRUCTION COMMISSION (through translator): This year, the Russian government increased financing to six times what it was last year, and it's done something the U.S. hasn't done: take it out of the hands of the military and put it under civilian control.

DOUGHERTY: As the U.S. Congress decides, people like factory worker Georgy Filipov, who lives with his daughter Angella two hours from the site, says he wants to get rid of the weapons, whatever it takes.

"I know it will cost a lot of money," he says, "but there's no doubt it's a threat to people who live here and to our children."

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Shuchye, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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