MOSCOW, Russia - On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin singed a consensus to suspend the bilateral Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PDMA) with the United States.
The Russian government put up a document reiterating the halting of the deal on its official website and has blamed America’s “hostile actions” towards Russia for nixing the crucial agreement.
The document reportedly states, “Suspend the agreement between the Russian and the U.S. governments on the disposition of plutonium, designated as plutonium no longer required for defense purposes, its use and cooperation in this field.”
The preamble of the consensus stated that the deal was being scrapped because of the “the emergence of a threat to strategic stability and as a result of unfriendly actions by the United States of America towards the Russian Federation.”
It further cited “Washington's inability to fulfill its commitments to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium” for its decision.
The U.S.-Russian PMDA that was signed in the year 2000 had ensured that both the nations agree to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium, enough to produce 17,000 nuclear bombs.
It stated that Russia's weapons-grade plutonium would not be used for creation of nuclear weapons or any research and development activities or tests carried out with military purposes.
The PDMA was then updated in 2010 and was signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
U.S. had then “agreed to convert its plutonium into a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a reprocessing facility in the state of North Carolina.”
With costs shooting up, the U.S. had abandoned its MOX facility in 2015 and had ventured into a less expensive process of diluting and storing the plutonium at a site in the state of New Mexico.
Russian news reports pointed out that around the same time, “Russia has already created infrastructure sufficient to dispose of the country's weapons-grade plutonium at its Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant.”
Experts believe that the decision to suspend the strategic agreement further displays the growing diplomatic rift between U.S. and Russia.
In recently times, bilateral ties between the countries was marred after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, while backing pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine.
A campaign was initiated by Washington to press financial charges on Russia for its action in the Ukraine crisis.
A campaign was initiated by Washington to press financial charges on Russia for its action in the Ukraine crisis.
The growing disagreement between the countries on the Syrian battlefield too has enhanced the rift.
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