MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Russia’s cooperation agreement with Japan on the decommissioning of Russian nuclear weapons was terminated on May 21, the Russian foreign ministry said.
"On May 21, the agreement between the Russian and Japanese governments on cooperation for the eliminations of Russian nuclear weapons and the establishment of a committee on cooperation in this area signed in Tokyo on October 13, 1993 was terminated," it said.
The Russian government decided to terminate this agreement in November 2023 and the Russian foreign ministry notified the Japanese side about this on November 21, 2023. Under the government resolution, the document was supposed to cease to have effect six months after the notification, i.e. on May 21, 2024.
The agreement is geared to help Russia safely eliminate its nuclear stockpiles that are to be reduced under bilateral or multilateral agreements, as well as its unilateral decisions. A special committee was set up to so that Moscow and Tokyo could outline priority areas of such cooperation, exchange information and results of research, and develop concrete cooperation programs.