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Watchdog says 90% of declared chemical weapons destroyed

The Hague - The Nobel Peace Prize-winning chemical weapons watchdog has hailed a milestone in its mission to rid the world of poison gas and nerve agents, saying 90% of stocks declared by its members worldwide has now been destroyed.

Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, announced the milestone Thursday, saying it "shows we are well on the way to ridding the world of chemical weapons."

The organisation has been thrown into the spotlight over the last two years by its efforts to oversee the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, but the majority of stocks are Cold War-era weapons held by the United States and Russia.

Russia is scheduled to complete destruction of its stockpile by 2020 and the United States three years later.

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