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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the United States' recently announced national strategy to combat weapons of mass destruction in respect of the policy to discourage the worldwide accumulation of separated plutonium. [89016] Mr. Mike O'Brien: This strategy is further evidence of the seriousness with which the United States is approaching the issue of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We welcome the renewed commitment to discourage the worldwide accumulation of plutonium and the use of highly-enriched uranium, in addition to the US programmes in Russia and other former Soviet states. The UK government believes that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the materials needed to make them, represents a serious threat. We support all efforts to counter that threat. On plutonium, we have committed £70 million over ten years to help Russia dispose of thirty-four tonnes of plutonium, as part of the 2000 US-Russian agreement. UK officials met with G8 partners in Moscow in December 2002 to progress this important programme. This UK-supported plutonium disposition programme forms just one part of the G8 `Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction', to which the UK has committed up to $750 million over ten years.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

89016; 397 c266-7W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Nuclear weapons Policy Radioactive materials Proliferation Weapons USA Plutonium

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk