Russia Suspends Plutonium Deal After Obama Scraps S. Carolina Plant

"WASHINGTON -- President Vladimir Putin suspended a 16-year-old deal with the United States to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium on Monday, further calling into question the future of the beleaguered mixed oxide facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

The Kremlin cited the 'inability of the U.S. to deliver on (its) obligation' to uphold its end of the nonproliferation deal in which both countries agreed in 2000 to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium.

In April, the Obama administration effectively scrapped the unfinished nuclear facility in Aiken, South Carolina, which is billions over budget and years behind schedule. The Department of Energy instead backed an alternative, cheaper method called downblending, but it had not secured Russia’s permission to change the terms of the deal."

Vera Bergengruen reports for the McClatchy Washington Bureau October 3, 2016.