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| | Belarus (08/05) |
 | | Belarus was previously a recipient of assistance under the U.S. Defense Department's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, whose objective is to reduce the threat posed to the United States by weapons of mass destruction remaining on the territory of the former Soviet Union, by promoting denuclearization and demilitarization and preventing weapons proliferation. |
 | | The massive April 26, 1986 nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant, across the border in Ukraine, had a devastating effect on Belarus; as a result of the radiation release, agriculture in a large part of the country was destroyed, and many villages were abandoned. |
 | | Included in this category (but not limited to these examples) are the sales of weapons to Libya and Syria, along with reported weapons transfers, upgrades of equipment (S-300 system), and air defense training of service members of the former Iraqi regime. |
| www.state.gov /r/pa/ei/bgn/5371.htm (6225 words) |
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