US calls for destroying chemical arms stockpiles

The United States called for the destruction over 10 years of stockpiles of chemical weapons and the plants that manufacture them.

US delegate Louis Fields told the 40-nation disarmament committee that the chemical weapons ban treaty sought by the United States must provide for prompt and detailed declaration of all production plants. It must also include a ban on new plants.

Mr. Fields accused the Soviet Union of blocking a global ban on chemical weapons and the alleged use of chemical weapons by Soviet-backed Afghan government troops in Afghanistan.