Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday that Russia would destroy all its chemical weapons on this day, hailing the move as a “historic event.”

“Today the last chemical ammunition from Russia’s chemical weapon stockpile will be destroyed,” Putin said in a televised address. “This is a huge step toward making the modern world more balanced and safe.”

Noting that Moscow managed to destroy the ammunition three years ahead of schedule, Putin went on to criticize Washington for not following suit.

The U.S. “unfortunately is not carrying out its obligations when it comes to the timeframe of destroying chemical weapons — they pushed back the liquidation timeframe already three times,” Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying.

Putin said the United States cites a lack of financial resources for pushing back its timeframe.
…