Russia denounces agreement with the US on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium

The treaty stipulated that both sides would eliminate 34 tons of nuclear missile warheads, which were considered redundant for military purposes at the time. In addition, a number of protocols to the agreement were annulled.

"The preservation of Russia's obligations under the plutonium agreement with the US is unacceptable," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, commenting on the vote in the Duma.

And he cynically added that the reason is the supposedly destructive line of the United States.

According to the explanatory note, the reason for the denunciation of the agreement was "US actions", and "maintaining any further obligations with respect to plutonium, which is the subject of the Agreement, appears inappropriate."

The purpose of the denunciation bill is to prevent threats to Russia's national security, the Duma's International Affairs Committee said.

The plutonium specified in the treaty was scheduled to be processed into fuel for nuclear power plants in 2018. However, Russia suspended the agreement in 2016, accusing the United States of violating its obligations under the treaty. Putin's decree said the decision was due to "the emergence of a threat to strategic stability as a result of unfriendly US actions towards the Russian Federation."

The Kremlin also made a number of demands that were not related to the issue of plutonium disposal. In particular, Russia demanded that Washington reduce the military infrastructure and the number of US troops in countries that joined NATO after September 1, 2000, as well as lift sanctions imposed by the US after Russia's occupation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas in 2014.

In addition, Putin wanted to achieve compensation for the losses caused by sanctions and Russian counter-sanctions, as well as the abolition of the "Magnitsky Act", financial and visa restrictions on Russians involved in human rights violations.