Ukraine to Eliminate Stockpile of Highly Enriched Uranium

Ukraine will be reducing and eliminating its stockpile of enriched uranium by 2012, the Obama administration said.
Ukraine to Eliminate Stockpile of Highly Enriched Uranium
U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych upon his arrival for dinner during the Nuclear Security Summit at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, April 12, 2010. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
4/12/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
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U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych upon his arrival for dinner during the Nuclear Security Summit at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, April 12, 2010. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukraine will be reducing and eliminating its stockpile of enriched uranium by 2012, the Obama administration said on Monday as President Obama opened the international nuclear forum in San Francisco.

White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs made the announcement in a briefing on Monday at the forum.

“Today Ukraine announced a landmark decision to get rid of its entire stockpile of enriched uranium by the time of the next nuclear security summit in 2012,” Gibbs said.

Obama had recently met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych where the details of the elimination of the stockpile were discussed; a culmination of several years of extensive discussion.

“Ukraine intends to reduce a substantial part of its stocks this year,” Gibbs said. “Ukraine will convert its civil nuclear research facilities to operate with low enriched uranium fuel.”

Gibbs said the United States has been attempting for the result for more than 10 years. “The material is enough to construct several nuclear weapons,” he said. “And this demonstrates Ukraine’s leadership in nonproliferation and comes in an important region where we know a lot of highly enriched uranium exists.”

The final location of the disposed uranium is yet to be determined, Gibbs said. “That’s a process that we’ll be working on. The United States will be providing some degree of technical and financial assistance to ensure that it happens.”

Obama, who spoke later at the forum, was optimistic regarding the potential success of the forum in light of his meetings with not only the Ukrainian president but also Pakistan and India.

“I feel very good at this stage in the degree of commitment and a sense of urgency that I have seen from the world leaders so far on this issue,” Obama said.

However, a continued effort to bring together the concerted support of both Russia and China to pressure Iran with new sanctions has yet to be achieved.

Obama also said he approved a reduction in the U.S. nuclear arsenal and an elimination of any nuclear testing.