THE HAGUE, November 25. /TASS/. Russia fully meets all the criteria for election to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Vladimir Tarabrin, Russia’s permanent representative to the organization, said.
"Russia fully meets all the criteria [for election to the Executive Council]," he stated ahead of the vote on candidates. Tarabrin noted that Russia covers 88% of Eastern Europe’s territory and is the only member of the regional group that is neither in the EU nor NATO and does not associate itself with these organizations. He added that Russia accounts for 37% of all OPCW-inspected chemical industry facilities in Eastern Europe.
Voting for seats on the OPCW Executive Council for the next two years will take place on November 25, the second day of the 30th Annual Conference of States Parties. According to the rules, candidates are divided into regional groups, with only three countries from each group eligible for nomination. However, five countries have been put forward in the Eastern European group: Russia, Armenia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. In such cases, the three countries receiving the most votes will be elected, as determined by the conference chair.
