Much of a vast Cold War stockpile of chemical weapons in Russia is to be destroyed.
The deadly nerve agents Sarin, Soman and the most potent nerve gas VX are held at a new plant near the town of Shchuchye, some 1800km east of Moscow in the Ural mountains.
Two million of these weapons will be rendered harmless by 2012.
During the Cold War, Russia and the United States held more than 71,000 metric tonnes of chemical agents in 1997, more than 90% of the world's total stockpiles.
The United States has contributed more than $US1 billion to the construction of the plant.
