
Sam Nunn
Co-Founder, Co-Chair, and Strategic Advisor
Statement of Former Senator Sam Nunn on the U.S. – Russian Joint Statement on Russian Plutonium Disposition
“The joint statement announced today will help turn swords to ploughshares, and I commend Secretary Bodman, Will Tobey and his NNSA team and their Russian counterparts for this major advance toward achieving the elimination of enough plutonium to make more than 8,000 nuclear bombs. The Joint Statement helps realize pledges made over a decade ago to eliminate this dangerous and burdensome legacy of the Cold War and helps advance nuclear weapons reduction commitments already made by the United States and Russia. Under this agreement, Russia will now take responsibility for financing the majority of the disposition work in Russia, advancing shared leadership in this cooperative agenda. Reducing global stockpiles of weapons-usable material is an essential component to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and avoiding the catastrophe of nuclear terrorism."
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