BELARUS NOW SET TO RESUME CONVENTIONAL ARMS SCRAPPING.

President Aleksandr Lukashenka has told journalists that Belarus will resume October 15 the destruction of tanks and other armored vehicles in excess of the ceilings set by the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE). Lukashenka said that Germany and the U.S. have promised Belarus $ 230 million to cover the costs of the operation, and that he hopes to receive at least $ 100 million in the short term. Meanwhile the scrapping will be completed at Belarus´ expense. (13)

Lukashenka had suspended the scrapping program in February, citing the high costs of destroying the massive arsenals of combat hardware left on Belarus territory by the ex-USSR´s forces. In August he held out the program´s resumption contingent on Western, primarily West German, financial support.

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