    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
    [Pages 1278-1279]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Joint Statement Concerning Management and Disposition of Excess Weapon-
    Grade Plutonium and Related Cooperation

    June 4, 2000

        The Presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation
    announced today completion of the bilateral Agreement for the management
    and disposition of weapon-grade plutonium withdrawn from their
    respective nuclear weapon programs and declared excess to defense
    purposes. This Agreement will ensure that this plutonium will be changed
    into forms unusable for nuclear weapons by consumption as fuel in
    nuclear reactors or by immobilization rendering it suitable for geologic
    disposal.
        Based on the 1998 Summit Joint Statement of Principles for
    Management and Disposition of Plutonium, this Agreement charts the
    course and sets the conditions for such activities. It reconfirms our
    determination to take steps necessary to ensure that it is never again
    used for nuclear weapons or any other military purpose and is managed
    and disposed in a way that is safe, secure, ecologically sound,
    transparent and irreversible. It reaffirms our commitment to nuclear
    disarmament.
        This Agreement will ensure that the management and disposition
    activities are monitored and, thus, transparent for the international
    community. It provides for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
    verification once appropriate agreements with the IAEA are concluded.
        This Agreement builds on the approaches to such plutonium management
    and disposition agreed at the 1996 G-8 Moscow Nuclear Safety and
    Security Summit. We reaffirm our intentions to continue to work closely
    with other countries, in particular other G-8 leaders, who have provided
    strong support over past years for initiation and implementation of
    these programs. In this regard, we hope that significant progress will
    be made as well at the G-8 Summit this July in Okinawa.

    [[Page 1279]]

        This Agreement will enable new cooperation to go forward between the
    United States and the Russian Federation. We note that the United States
    Congress has appropriated 200 million USD for this cooperation and the
    U.S. Administration intends to seek additional appropriations.
        This Agreement will soon be signed by Vice President Gore and Prime
    Minister Kasyanov.
     Moscow
     June 4, 2000

     Note:  An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this joint statement, which was formally entitled, ``Joint Statement
    Concerning Management and Disposition of Weapon-Grade Plutonium
    Designated as No Longer Required for Defense Purposes and Related
    Cooperation.''