WASHINGTON, October 5. /TASS/. The United States and Russia are capable of carrying on with their cooperation in the sphere of nuclear security despite contradictions as it serves the interests of both countries, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told a daily press briefing.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the Russian State Duma a bill on suspending the agreement with the United States on the disposal of redundant weapons-grade plutonium.
The bill lists conditions on which the agreement could be resumed, including cancellation of the so-called Magnitsky Act, lifting of all anti-Russian sanctions with compensation of the damage, as well as reduction of US military infrastructure in NATO countries.
The agreement with the United States was signed on August 29, 2000. It envisaged ways of disposing of excessive weapons grade plutonium in Russia and the United States, including the production of mixed oxide fuel to be used in nuclear power reactors, conversion into non-weapons-grade form and also burial. It was expected that either side will start eliminating "declassified" amounts of plutonium in an amount of 34 tonnes. Russia converts weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for nuclear power plants.