Management of the Plutonium in Excess in Russia

16May
2000

The end of the Cold War put forward the question of the future of strategic materials, and, in particular, of weapons grade plutonium originating from the dismantling of Russian and American warheads.

After several years of discussions in different international fora, involving the US, Russian and European governments, the door is open for a successful multilateral action in Russia.

This dinner-debate was followed a few days later by the conclusion of an agreement by Presidents Clinton and Poutin which binds the USA and Russia each to dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons grade plutonium so that it can never be used for nuclear weapons, which is tantamount to neutralising thousands of potential atomic bombs. Moreover, President Poutin securing the ratification of the Start 2 and Start 3 Treaties by the Duma in April of this year made the signature of this agreement possible.