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U.S.-Russia cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation at impasse

Traditional cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear nonproliferation issues has reached an impasse, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (“NNSA”) head Frank Klotz told Sputnik on February 17, 2016.

“With the downturn in bilateral relations between our two countries ... the relationship is not one in which this kind of cooperation can continue at the moment,” Klotz said of U.S.-Russian collaboration on nuclear nonproliferation issues.

The NNSA, the organization responsible for the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, requested a 6.4-percent decrease in funding for nonproliferation activities in 2017 as a result of the lack of cooperation with Russia.

Klotz noted that a number of joint nonproliferation projects have been suspended between the United States and Russia.

In the years following the end of the Cold War, Washington and Moscow cooperated on a range of projects, such as securing nuclear sites across the former Soviet bloc, reducing the stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, and enhancing border security to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism.

“[It was] largely a decision by the Russian government that now was not a propitious time to continue with many of the activities we were conducting jointly and collaboratively with Russia to reduce nuclear dangers,” Klotz claimed.

Russian-American relations deteriorated in 2014 following the reunification of Crimea with Russia, and the United States’ accusations that Russia had destabilized Ukraine. Moscow has denied the accusations.

The downturn in the relationship led to the United States’ cutting off important high-level contacts with Russia, including military-to-military ties. Despite their differences, both countries remain committed to their obligations under the 2011 Strategic Arms Reduction agreement, which is aimed at reducing the number of deployed nuclear warheads.

 

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