U.S., Russia Agree to Extend CTR Umbrella Agreement

The United States and Russia have finalized a seven-year extension of U.S.-funded programs to secure the former Soviet WMD arsenal, USA Today reported today (see GSN, May 2).

The original agreement on Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts significantly protected U.S. contractors from liability in the event of accidents while working in Russia. Moscow, however, wanted to make sure the workers could be held to account for any intentional acts of sabotage. 

The new arrangement retains the same protections for workers involved in existing projects. However, less sweeping liability protections are expected to be developed for new projects, according to USA Today.

“The agreement ensures that critical cooperation with Russia continues to combat the proliferation threat posed by large quantities of Soviet legacy weapons of mass destruction and missile(s),” said National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones (Peter Eisler, USA Today, June 16).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.