The document cancels the agreement between Moscow and Washington on the destruction of plutonium, which was previously declared unnecessary for use in defense.
The recycling agreement was ratified in 20011 (published on the website of the international committee of the Council of Federations of the Russian Federation). The United States and the Russian Federation then pledged to destroy 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium remaining after the reduction of nuclear arsenals.
The agreement on plutonium disposal was stopped by Putin's decree in 2016, due to the alleged threat to strategic stability as a result of unfriendly actions of the United States towards the Russian Federation, notes the Russian online publication Meduza. Weapons-grade plutonium was initially intended to be used as a fuel component for nuclear power plants, but the United States considered this disposal method unprofitable for the development of nuclear energy and decided bury it, which allowed Moscow to accuse the American side of violating the agreement.
To renew the treaty, the Kremlin put forward a number of demands in 2016 – to lift all sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation at that time, compensate for the “damage,” and also reduce the contingent of the US army in countries that joined NATO after September 1, 2000. The United States did not comply with the Russian Federation’s demands, the publication points out.
