NATO will help Montenegro to utilize Yugoslav weapons
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NATO will help Montenegro to utilize Yugoslav weapons
The Ministry of Defense of Montenegro, together with NATO, is launching a 15-month program to destroy 416 tons of surplus weapons.
The agreement that NATO signed with the government of Montenegro is designed to ensure the safe destruction of weapons and ammunition, for which the state lacks its own resources to write off.
Mines and other explosive ordnance, mainly intended for naval and air forces, are located in military depots in Pristani, in the Bay of Kotor on the Adriatic coast and in Taras, near Podgorica.
The Ministry of Defense persistently tried to find the most reliable way to destroy this surplus, which poses a threat to people and harms the environment, the ministry said.
For a decade, Montenegro has made enormous efforts to get rid of obsolete weapons, ammunition and explosives, which are stored in neglected and poorly equipped military depots.
The biggest problem is the disposal of highly toxic hazardous waste, mainly liquid explosive charges, which are used in the production of sea mines.
After separation from Serbia in 2006, Montenegro received 12,136 tons of ammunition stored in military depots, although the country's demand could not exceed 2,300 tons.
There are also 74 thousand 639 units of various types of weapons (excluding firearms), of which about 1,000 are heavy artillery, anti-tank, anti-aircraft guns and tanks.
Most of the weapons were delivered to Montenegro during the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Montenegro has already spent tens of millions of euros in an attempt to get rid of the weapons and ammunition of Yugoslav and Soviet production, which was released more than 40 years ago.
With the help of attracting foreign capital, the Ministry of Defense in 2007 and 2008 implemented a number of projects to destroy about 5,000 tons of surplus, despite criticism from the opposition and some NGOs that believe that this undermines the security of the state and its military power.
According to some reports, in 2015 Montenegro sold 538 tons of surplus ammunition, 255 weapons and 614 vehicles, as secondary raw materials.
About 128 tons of ammunition of various caliber, were destroyed by the forces of the Montenegrin army.
A total of 104 tons of ammunition was destroyed in accordance with the program signed between the Montenegrin government, the UN and the OSCE.
According to the latest information from the Ministry of Defense, Montenegro still must get rid of at least 2,438 tons of ammunition.
All costs associated with the destruction of surplus weapons in Montenegro will be distributed among NATO member countries: Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Croatia and the United Kingdom.
A source
Photo source: Ministry of Defense of Montenegro
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