20.01 Russian Firm Bids to Destroy Syrian Chemical Arsenal

BRUSSELS, January 20 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian company is among 14 international private firms that have submitted bids in a tender to destroy part of the stockpile of Syrian chemical weapons, the UN chemical weapons watchdog said Monday.

The tender to destroy 500 metric tons of Syria’s weapons-grade industrial chemicals and millions of liters of resulting toxic waste was opened Monday at the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, tasked with overseeing the destruction process.

The deadline for submitting bids was January 19.

The list of 14 bidding firms from 11 countries includes Russian company Vector-N LLC, as well as France’s Airbus Defense & Space, China’s CNCC and Paragon Waste Solutions from the United States.

“The OPCW will now conduct technical and commercial evaluation of the bids and announce the winner(s) in early February,” the organization said.