Russian FM says suspension of plutonium disposal deal, warning to US
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says his country’s suspension of a pact with the US on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium is a signal to Washington that it should not use the language of force with Moscow.
In a Monday statement published on Russia’s Foreign Ministry website, Lavrov emphasized that the postponement of the agreement was intended as a gesture to the US that speaking to the Kremlin in the language of sanctions and ultimatums would not work.
Russia’s top diplomat described the suspension as a “forced measure” and added that the way the United States disposes of weapons-grade plutonium did not ensure the irreversibility of its military use.
Lavrov, however, insisted that Russia was not giving up its responsibilities for nuclear disarmament.
Earlier in the day, President Vladimir Putin issued a decree, suspending a treaty with the US on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium.
Moscow says the decision to suspend the post-Cold War deal with Washington was due to “the hostile actions of the US” against Russia, noting that it could be reversed if such measures are stopped.
Although the suspension decree has already come into force, it still needs to be approved by the Russian parliament, which could overrule Putin’s decision, according to Russian media reports.
Washington and Moscow signed a series of accords to reduce the size of their nuclear arsenals in the last years of the Cold War.
In 2000, the US and Russia concluded an agreement, under which each side is supposed to get rid of 34 tonnes of plutonium by burning them in reactors.
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