United States Renews Decree Protecting Russian Accounts Used in Highly Enriched Uranium Deal

U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday renewed for one year a 2000 decree protecting Russian accounts in the United States used to implement the Megatons to Megawatts program from court prosecution, according to ITAR-Tass (see GSN, May 14).

The Megatons to Megawatts program seeks to eliminate 500 metric tons of Russian highly enriched uranium removed from nuclear weapons by blending down the material for eventual use as civilian nuclear power plant fuel. In June 2000, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the four-year decree to protect payments to Russia made through the program from court action. That year, concerns were raised that payments to Russia could be blocked after a Swiss company filed a lawsuit in the United States seeking payment of an alleged debt still owned by Russia, ITAR-Tass reported (Ivan Lebedev, ITAR-Tass, June 17)

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