Two U.S.-Russian task forces to accelerate disposition of nuclear materials

Brief

May 30, 2002

As a side note to the Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions signed by Presidents Bush and Putin on May 24, two joint task forces will be created for the reduction of surplus defense inventories of fissile materials. The first task force will evaluate strategies for stepping up the elimination of excess plutonium and highly enriched uranium beyond the requirements of the existing Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and is expected to submit its report in six months. The second task force will submit recommendations in sixty days for a US-Russian initiative to develop advanced reactors and fuel cycle technologies "to reduce inventories and waste volumes generated by civilian reactors."