The United States announced the destruction of its last chemical weapons, thus completing a process begun in 1997.
“For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our stockpile of chemical weapons,” President Joe Biden said.
Destroying these stockpiles “brings us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons,” Biden added.
“Completing the destruction of the United States’ stockpile of chemical weapons represents an important step in fulfilling our obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention,” said the secretary of the United States. US State, Antony Blinken, in a press release.
“We must also recognize that the threat posed by the possession, development and use of chemical weapons still exists and requires our continued attention,” added the head of US diplomacy.
The United States had a September 30 deadline to get rid of its remaining chemical weapons under the International Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997 and has been ratified by 193 countries.
More recently, 51,000 M55 rockets containing GB nerve agent, also known as sarin, were destroyed in Kentucky.
The chemicals had been stored in Kentucky since the 1940s.