The Kremlin Chemical Cartwheels (From the History of Negotiations on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)

Abstract

The article deals with the Russian use of toxic chemicals in the territory of Great Britain, which became an irrefutable fact of violation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. An article refers to the history of agreeing on the Convention and its provisions that was carried out in several stages, particularly in the bilateral Soviet- American negotiations, that Ukrainian diplomats joined as well. The author analyzed the long-term and difficult drafting process of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; investigated the early years of its operation as a significant element of the international security system. He emphasizes that the first years the Convention was functioning clearly indicate that only the political will of the heads of state can choose the direct path of the strict fulfillment of the commitments they have undertaken. Furthermore, the author stresses that Ukraine has never had chemical weapons or related objects, but as an industrialized country it has chemical cycle production, using the dangerous and highly toxic chemicals. Ukraine has a vital interest in the functioning of such a stable international mechanism, that would make the use of these chemicals for the purposes of chemical warfare impossible and would comprehensively promote the peaceful development of the chemical industry. Therefore, in November 2018, during the Fourth Review Conference of Countries that are parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Ukrainian delegation condemned Russia’s aggressive actions on the uses of chemical weapons in Great Britain and on the cover those who used this weapon in Syria. The delegation also supported the Conference’s resolutions on the improvement of the mechanism of the identification of the perpetrators of chemical attacks. Keywords: chemical weapon, Committee on Disarmament, history of Ukrainian diplomacy.