Russia suspending and withdrawing from US nuclear agreements including reduction of weapons grade plutonium

Russia has suspended its 2000 agreement with the USA to reduce their surplus weapons-grade plutonium. The two countries were each required to dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons grade plutonium under a weapons reduction agreement signed in June 2000. They reconfirmed the deal in 2010, but President Barack Obama’s FY2017 budget submission proposes a “dilution and disposal” approach as enabling the material to be disposed of sooner, at lower cost and with lower technical risks than conversion to mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel.

The Russian government has “suspended” a 2013 agreement with the USA on nuclear energy research and development and “terminated” another, signed in 2010, on cooperation in the conversion of Russian research reactors to low-enriched uranium fuel.