[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and disposition of weapon-grade plutonium withdrawn from their 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.''