The CFE Foundation International Conferences
on the Problem of Sea-Dumped Chemical Weapons
 
Kaliningrad (Moscow Region), Russia, 1995

Summary

The first international conference on the problem of sea-dumped chemical weapons was organized by the CFE Foundation in Kaliningrad (Moscow Region), Russia, in January 1995. The Conference was supported by the Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division of NATO in the framework of the Advanced Research Workshops (NATO ARW) Program. The Conference was opened by a welcoming address from Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union and President of Green Cross International.

Bellagio, Italy, 1996
Summary

The Second CFE's Conference on the on the problem of sea-disposed chemical weapons was held in Bellagio, Italy, in April 1996. The Conference was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation (USA). The conference program featured, inter alia, the first international presentation of the documentary film "Cain's Smoke" focusing on the problem of sea-dumped chemical weapons.

Welcoming Address
by M.S. GORBACHEV,  President, Green Cross International,
former President of the Soviet Union
 
TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE CONFERENCE

on the European Environmental Security - the Problem of Chemical Weapons Accumulated in the War and Post-War Years in the Seas of North Europe.
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I extend greetings to you who gathered here, on Moscow land, to discuss very serious problems.

The very cross-section of the audience here is testifying that the military, environmental and political security issues are very closely interwoven. The ecological aspect of this problem has reached a critical point, growing  into a political problem of  international importance.

During the decades of the Cold  War,  all the attempts of its appropriate solution remained practically blocked.

Now such  a possibility exists, but it can be realised on the basis of a wide international cooperation only. In this connection,  I see as very promising the idea of using the potential of the defence conversion industries for solving the extremely complicated problem of sea-dumped chemical munitions. This idea  has been advocated by the Russian conference organiser - "Conversion for the Environment" Foundation.

Your conference is timely and topical. I wish a all the participants successes in your noble course.
 

                                                                                                            M.S. Gorbachev