Polish and U.S. diplomats today signed an agreement authorizing the United States to conduct nuclear-security operations inside the East European nation, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw announced (see GSN, Jan. 8).
The Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Area of Countering the Proliferation of Nuclear Materials and Technologies establishes a legal framework for work in Poland by the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Activities are expected to include repatriation of Soviet- or Russian-origin nuclear fuel from two Polish research reactors.
The operation would be conducted through the U.S. agency's Global Threat Reduction Initiative, which secures and reduces nuclear and radiological materials at civilian facilities around the world. More than 900 kilograms of Russian-origin highly enriched uranium and spent fuel have already been shipped out of Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Libya, Uzbekistan, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Germany.
"The signature of this agreement is an example of the international community working collectively to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism, and is the kind of concrete international security action that increases both U.S. security and that of our allies," U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe, who signed the agreement with Polish Undersecretary of State Hanna Trojanowska, said in a press release. "The United States government looks forward to continued cooperation with the government of Poland to implement our mutual commitment to promoting nuclear nonproliferation" (U.S. Embassy in Poland release, Sept. 11).