Baltic Sea Chemical Weapons Resolution Passes

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe last week passed a resolution focusing on ecological threats from World War II-era chemical weapons dumped in the Baltic Sea, the Baltic Times reported (see GSN, Jan. 13).

Russia and Germany last fall agreed to build a $5 billion gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea. However, Baltic states fear that construction could disturb the weapons, which have been resting on the sea floor for 60 years after being dumped by the former Soviet Union and its allies.

Environmentalists in Lithuania claim there is a real threat that weapons would be struck during construction of the pipeline. Scientists have not agreed on the risk posed by the weapons, but many believe that an ecological disaster is possible, the Times reported (Baltic Times, April 19).

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