Russian parliament committee backs ending plutonium disposal deal with US

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia’s State Duma Committee on International Affairs on Wednesday unanimously backed the denunciation of the Russian-American intergovernmental agreement on plutonium disposal, according to committee chairman Leonid Slutsky.

“The decision was made unanimously,” Slutsky, who also leads the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), told reporters, as cited by the Russian state-run Tass news agency.

He added that the proposal will be submitted for consideration at the parliament’s plenary session on Oct. 8.

The 2000 deal, signed between Moscow and Washington, committed both sides to dispose of excess weapons-grade plutonium in a bid to reduce nuclear arsenals and prevent proliferation.

However, Russia suspended its implementation in 2016, citing what it called “unfriendly” US actions.