Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday threatened to walk away from a long-standing plutonium disposal agreement with the United States. He submitted a bill to the Russian Duma that would withdraw Russia from a treaty first signed in 2000, but expanded upon in 2006 and 2010.
Putin justifed Russia’s withdrawing by pointing to “a core change of circumstances, arising from: a threat to strategic stability, resulting from the unfriendly actions of the United States towards Russia; the inability of the U.S. to live up to its responsibilities under international agreements for properly disposing of excess plutonium; and with the need for urgent measures to be undertaken to defend the Russian Federation”.
