Moscow has said it had to terminate the accord on military-grade plutonium disposal in view of Washington\u2019s continued hostile policies<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on a law that officially terminates a treaty with the US on the disposal of excess military-grade plutonium. Moscow suspended the accord in 2016, citing Washington\u2019s hostile policies toward Russia.
\nThe lower house of the Russian Parliament passed the bill ending the treaty earlier this month, while the upper chamber gave it the green light last Wednesday. The legislation took effect on Monday after Putin approved it.
\nThe agreement, which was originally signed in September 2000, stipulated that each signatory dispose of 34 tons of military-grade plutonium that had been declared redundant for the purposes of military programs.
\nIn October 2016, Russia suspended the accord, citing hostile actions by the US \u2013 sanctions and NATO\u2019s eastward expansion in Europe, among other reasons. Moscow had, however, expressed a willingness to revive it if Washington addressed its grievances.
\nA note accompanying the law cited a \u201cfundamental change in circumstances,\u201d adding that the extent of Washington\u2019s \u201canti-Russian\u201d policies has only increased in recent years.<\/p>\n
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Addressing Russian lawmakers earlier this month, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also noted that the US had sought to change the plutonium disposal protocols. Moscow objected, expressing concerns that the radioactive materials could potentially be disinterred and reused, the diplomat said.
\nDuring US President Donald Trump\u2019s first term in office, Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, as well as the 1992 Open Skies Treaty.
\nLast month, Putin lamented that \u201cstep by step, the system of Soviet-American and Russian-American agreements on nuclear missile and strategic defensive arms control was almost completely dismantled.\u201d
\nHe stated that Russia was prepared to continue abiding by the central limitations of the New START Treaty \u2013 the only remaining arms control agreement between Moscow and Washington \u2013 for one year after it expires on February 5, 2026.
\nIn force since 2011, the treaty limits the US and Russia to no more than 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads.
\nResponding to Putin\u2019s proposal in early October, Trump hailed it as a \u201cgood idea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow has said it had to terminate the accord on military-grade plutonium disposal in view of Washington\u2019s continued hostile policies Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on a law…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t