Duma approves bill suspending US-Russia plutonium disposal agreement

The State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, passed a bill on Wednesday to suspend a United States-Russia agreement on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium. All members of the body voted in favor; one abstained.

The law would allow for Russia's agreement with the United States to be renewed under specific conditions, amongst which are the annulment of the Magnitsky Act and the reduction of the number of NATO forces positioned near Russia's borders. Another condition is that the United States lift its sanctions against the Russian Federation and compensate Russia both for the damages that the latter incurred as a direct result of Western sanctions and for the damages that it incurred as a result of its own counter-sanctions against the United States.

The bill was first mentioned in an October 3 decree published by Vladimir Putin. The president justified a suspension of the existing agreement by citing "fundamental changes in circumstances, the emergence of a threat to [Russia's] strategic stability as a result of hostile action on the part of the United States, as well as the need for Russia to take urgent measures to protect [its] security."

The agreement on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium was signed in 2000. The agreement lasts until 2025 and stipulates that each side is to dispose of 34 tonnes of radioactive material.