The Russian Council of the Federation, the upper house of the country’s legislature, on Wednesday approved legislation suspending the bilateral agreement with the United States under which each country had committed to disposing of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Oct. 3 that suspended the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA), citing hostile U.S. behavior and Washington’s failure to fulfill its commitment under the deal.
In justifying the pullback, Russian officials have pointed to the U.S. domestic battle over plutonium elimination methods. Specifically, they say the Obama administration’s proposal to cancel the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility – under construction in South Carolina to dispose of the U.S. plutonium – is a breach of the agreement. The administration is seeking an alternative method of processing plutonium that it says would be tens of billions of dollars cheaper and years shorter to complete.
After issuing the decree, Putin submitted a bill to the Russian legislature outlining conditions for resumption of the deal, including a reduction of U.S. troops in countries that joined NATO after September 2000, the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Russia, and corresponding compensation for the damage inflicted by the economic penalties.
The State Duma on Oct. 19 passed the bill, sending it to the Council of the Federation for approval. It now goes on to Putin.
The Council of the Federation said in announcing the legislation’s approval that the agreement can be renewed by the decision of the Russian president, if the United States takes action on the conditions for resumption.
Putin’s decree stated that despite the withdrawal, the plutonium covered under the PMDA will remain outside of military use.
