Atom curb welcomed
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.MOSCOW (Reuter)- President Boris Yeltsin yesterday welcomed a US initiative to stop producing key ingredients of atomic weapons but called on Washington to go further by halting underground nuclear tests.
A statement by Mr Yeltsin's press office said the move, announced on Monday by President Bush, was 'a major initiative whose significance and scale are not in doubt'.
Mr Bush said the US would no longer produce plutonium or highly enriched uranium, key components of nuclear arms, to discourage the further spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Some US analysts reacted sceptically to Mr Bush's move, noting that the US stopped producing plutonium in 1988 and enriched weapons-grade uranium as far back as 1964. In any case, Washington has stockpiled more than enough of both materials.
But the Russian statement praised Mr Bush, saying the move 'creates more favourable conditions for realising joint decisions by the US and Russia to lower the level of nuclear arms.'
Mr Bush and Mr Yeltsin agreed at a summit in Washington last month to slash arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons to about one third of their present levels.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments