"Even though it has the biggest chemical weapons stockpile in the world, Russia has also come up with the safest technologies for disarmament," Russia's RIA Novosti quoted the country's Minister for Industry and Energy Vitkor Khristenko as telling the government meeting.

Out of Russia's 40,000-tonne arsenal, 20 percent will be destroyed by 2007, 45 percent by 2009 and the programme will be finally eliminated in 2012, Khristenko said.

Khristenko emphasised the disarmament programme would safeguard the environment and create jobs in areas where chemical weapons are stocked.

So far Russia has only built one chemical dismantling plant in Saratov region, but another six plants are set to be built by 2009, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

Russian officials have long complained that foreign countries had not come up with sufficient financing for the disarmament, holding up approval of the plan.

Under the budget approved Thursday, foreign countries will contribute 11 billion roubles (385 million dollars, 316 million euros) to the 171-billion-rouble (six-billion-dollar, 4,9-billion-euro) total, Khristenko said.

At a G8 summit meeting in Canada in 2002, the world's leading economies offered Russia up to 20 billion dollars (16.4 billion euros) to dismantle stocks of military plutonium and chemical weapons, and to secure weapons facilities.

The disarmament programme is set for final approval by the Russian government before August 15, but is not expected to change from its current form.