(Tbilisi, January 30, 2003. Civil Georgia) – Georgian authorities and the OSCE signed an agreement was today establishing a project to eliminate or recycle vast munitions dumps, which are a threat to the safety, ecology and security of the country, OSCE Mission to Georgia reports.
The problems are posed by the stockpiles of ammunition and bombs that have been left behind on former Soviet military bases located across Georgia. The first stage of the project, which is to last 3 months, costs of $100,000.
“This Memorandum represents only the first stage of a process of eliminating the stockpiles of ammunition and bombs that remain on former bases throughout Georgia. The preparatory stage will lay the foundations for a process that will take many years to complete,” the Head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia, Ambassador Jean-Michel Lacombe said today.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the headquarters of the OSCE Mission to Georgia, between the OSCE Mission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the Georgian State Military Scientific and Technical Centre, DELTA.
Financial support for the project has been assured by the governments of Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey. The entire project, which is divided into several stages of implementation, will be financed step-by-step.
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