Overview
- The State Duma approved a bill denouncing the 2000 Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, sending it to the Federation Council for a final vote before presidential signature.
- Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told lawmakers the accord is untenable under current conditions, citing sanctions, U.S. support for Ukraine, NATO expansion, and what he called a fundamental shift in circumstances.
- Russian officials dispute U.S. disposal plans they say depart from MOX fuel conversion in favor of methods that could allow future recovery of plutonium.
- The agreement required each country to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons‑grade plutonium, and Russia had already suspended participation in 2016 as relations worsened.
- Officials say the step requires no new budget spending and cast it as part of a wider rollback in arms‑control cooperation, while one senior lawmaker suggested reconsideration remains possible if U.S. behavior changes.