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Russia says it will destroy all 44,000 tonnes of its chemical weapons by
2012. This is five years later than required by the chemical weapons treaty, but
treaty officials welcomed the plan after fears that a lack of funds could halt
weapons destruction. Russia, which has the world’s biggest stockpile, hopes the
US will resume funding the programme, which it stopped doing two years ago. A
decision is expected in Washington soon. Meanwhile, officials in Moscow denied
allegations by environmental activists that an additional 22,000 tonnes of
undeclared chemical weapons lurk in forgotten dumps scattered across Russia.