Joe Biden announced that the US had destroyed the last of its chemical weapons

The US president announced that his country had completed the process that began in 1997 and the global convention to ban these weapons. It is the last signatory to still possess chemical weapons.

The United States has destroyed the last of its chemical weapons, President Joe Biden announced Friday, completing a process that began in 1997 with the signing of a global convention to ban these deadly weapons.

“For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate its chemical weapons arsenal. Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the last of its stockpile. The horrors of chemical weapons,” Joe Biden said in a statement.

The last signatory to do so

Other signatories to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention have already lifted their reservations, Fernando Arias, director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, announced in May.

Only the United States must finish destroying their stockpiles, he said, adding that “more than 70,000 tons of the world’s most dangerous poisons” have been destroyed under his organization’s watch.

Ahead of the White House announcement, Republican Senate heavyweight Mitch McConnell announced Friday that the “Blue Cross” depot, a military base in his east-central state of Kentucky, had recently completed removing about 500 tons of the deadly chemical agent after four weeks. Annual work.

These reserves were last under the control of the US Armed Forces.

Encourage Russia and Syria

“While the use of these deadly weapons will be an indelible stain on history, our nation has finally fulfilled its promise to free us from this scourge,” the Republican nominee said in a statement, adding, “Weapons chemicals are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes in terms of human casualties.”

In his statement, President Joe Biden encouraged the rest of the world to sign the 1997 convention so that “the global ban on chemical weapons can achieve its full potential”.

“Russia and Syria must once again comply with the Convention and recognize their undeclared programs used for atrocities and brazen attacks,” the US president continued.