Vice President Al Gore announces that he and Chairman of theGovernment of the Russian Federation Viktor Chernomyrdin have signedon this date the U.S.-Russian Plutonium Production Reactor Agreement.The agreement enters into force immediately.

This ground-breaking accord represents an additional, significant stepaway from the nuclear legacy of the Cold War by placing a cap on U.S.and Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapon-grade plutonium. It alsoprohibits Russian use in nuclear weapons of recently producedplutonium. It marks the first time that the U.S. and Russia haveplaced limits on the materials for nuclear warheads themselves ratherthan on their delivery vehicles such as missiles and bombers, as inthe START and INF treaties.

Under the agreement, Russia's three plutonium-producing reactors thatare in active use must be converted by 2000 so that they no longerproduce weapon-grade plutonium. The U.S. will provide assistance forthis conversion. Other such reactors that Russia is not currentlyusing must remain permanently closed down. Similarly, U.S.plutonium-producing reactors, all of which have been closed down since1989, must remain closed.

Further, Russia commits not to use in nuclear weapons any of theweapon-grade plutonium it produces in the three operating reactorsbetween now and the time of their conversion. To ensure compliancewith this commitment, the U.S. will monitor such plutonium produced byRussia since the beginning of 1995.

The agreement's extensive monitoring regime provides U.S. and Russianmonitors unprecedented access to each other's nuclear warheadproduction facilities and their associated materials. U.S. monitorswill be able to ensure that closed facilities remain closed, thatoperating facilities use fuel and production schedules suitable onlyfor non-weapon-grade material, and that recently produced plutoniumremains out of warhead production.

This agreement marks a new stage of U.S.-Russian cooperation toregulate and safeguard nuclear materials, to limit their use inweapons, and to build mutual confidence through increasedtransparency. It is an important step forward on the path leading toeventual negotiation of limits on warheads themselves.