WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- Croatia will host a team from the U.S. State Department on Wednesday for a workshop supporting the reduction of weapons stockpiles in Southeast Europe.
The two-day weapons and munitions stockpile-reduction workshop is part of an effort by the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs to help develop strategies to safely reduce the threat of loosely secured and hazardous stockpiles and the potential threat of proliferation by transnational criminal groups, the State Department reported.
The workshop, run by a team from the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, will take place in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. The workshop also marks the launch of the South East Europe Regional Approach to Stockpile Reduction.
"Aging, excess, and loosely secured stockpiles of conventional weapons and munitions are a major issue in Southeast Europe," according to a news release. "These stockpiles pose threats of illicit proliferation, accidental explosion, widespread destruction, extensive human casualties and environmental damage."
