Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally ended a long-stalled agreement with the US that required both countries to dispose of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium no longer needed for defense.
The law, approved by the State Duma on Oct. 8 and the Federation Council on Oct. 22, also cancels all related protocols tied to the 2000 deal.
The original agreement, signed in 2000 and ratified in 2011, committed both nations to destroy excess plutonium by converting it into fuel for nuclear power plants.
The process was supposed to begin in 2018, but Moscow halted its participation in 2016.
At the time, the Kremlin said the suspension was due to “unfriendly actions” by Washington and what it described as the US failure to fulfil its disposal commitments.
The US later decided to store, rather than recycle, the plutonium – a move Russia called a violation of the deal.
When Moscow froze the agreement in 2016, it said it would only resume participation if Washington lifted sanctions against Russia, compensated Russia for losses from those sanctions, and scaled back its military presence in NATO countries that joined the alliance after 2000. The US did not agree to those conditions.
The move comes amid renewed tensions between Moscow and Washington, following stalled peace talks over Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the collapse of several key arms control agreements in recent years.