MOSCOW - Russia's lower house of parliament yesterday postponed ratification of an international treaty banning chemical weapons, saying it needed western funds and more time to destroy its stockpile.
On Thursday, the US Senate approved the pact, which comes into effect next Tuesday, clearing the way for its ratification. The EU urged Russia, the other declared possessor of chemical weapons, to follow suit.
The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, the product of years of negotiations, aims to ban the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons worldwide. It has been signed by 164 states and ratified by 74.