Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Ukraine on the Recycling of Nuclear Warheads

The Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Ukraine, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,

Reaffirming the attachment of the Parties to the strengthening of the international regime for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons on the basis of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1 July 1968,

Tuking into account the Treaty of 31 July 1991 between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive arms, and the instruments associated with it,

Taking into account the agreement of IS April 1992 between the Russian Federation and Ukraine concerning the procedure for the transfer of nuclear munitions from the territory of Ukraine to central locations in the Russian Federation for the purposes of dismantling and destruction,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

For the purposes of the present agreement the terms set out below shall have the following meanings:

"Nuclear warhead" - the munition section of a weapon deployed in the territory of Ukraine, which contains nuclear materials in a single structure;

"Nuclear fuel for nuclear power stations'' - material containing fissionable nuclides with a uranium-235 concentration of no more than 4.4 per cent, which, when placed in a nuclear reactor, makes possible a nuclear chain reaction;

"Highly enriched uranium" - uranium with a uranium-235 content of 20 per cent or more by weight;

"Low-enriched uranium" - uranium with a uranium-235 content of between 4.4 and 20 per cent by weight;

"Fuel assembly" - a cluster of fuel elements which form a whole and cannot be separated from one another on loading into the core of a reactor, irradiation and unloading;

"Fuel element" - an element of a fuel assembly consisting of the nuclear fuel itself and the fuel jacket, which ensures the safe transfer of heat from the fuel to the coolant;

"Recycling of nuclear warheads" - the process of dismantling, transport, storage and processing with a view to the use of nuclear warhead components for peaceful purposes.

Article 2

1. The Russian Federation shall ensure the recycling of all nuclear oyed in Ukraine.

2. The Russian Federation shall ensure that highly enriched uranium obtained as a result of the recycling of nuclear warheads is reprocesse into low-grade uranium, which shall be used to produce fuel assemblies for nuclear power stations in Ukraine or for other peaceful purposes.

Article 3

1. Fuel assemblies from the Russian Federation for nuclear power stations in Ukraine shall be supplied or the understanding that Ukraine will place its nuclear activities under the safeguards of the international Atomic Energy Agency.

2. For the purpose of attaining the objectives set out in article 2 of the present agreement, the Parties shall conclude a contract. The contract shall be concluded within a period of six months following the entry of the present agreement into force. The Parties may as necessary conclude supplementary contracts in conformity with the present agreement.

3. In the event of any divergences between the present agreement and the contracts concluded in conformity with the present agreement, the provisions of the present agreement shall prevail.

Article 4

Each of the Parties shall designate implementing agencies for the application of the present agreement. For the Russian Federation the implementing agency responsible for the dismantling and transport of nuclear warheads shall be the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, while the implementing agency responsible for processing, storage and accounting shall be the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation; the agencies for Ukraine shall be the Ministry of Defence and the State Committee of Ukraine on the Use of Nuclear Energy. Each of the Parties shall have the right to replace the implementing agency by providing 30 days, notice in writing to the other Party.

Article 5

To ensure the implementation of the present agreement the Parties shall guarantee the unhindered entry and exit of personnel from the Parties and shall grant various reciprocal tax concessions which shall be subject to agreement between the Parties.

Article 6

1. The present agreement shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of notifications by the Parties that they have fulfilled the domestic procedures necessary for the agreement's entry into force.

The present agreement, which shall apply in the context of the pertinent international obligations of the Parties, shall remain in force for 30 years. The period of validity of the present agreement may be modified by written agreement between the Parties.

2. The present agreement may be supplemented or modified by agreement between the signatory Parties.

3. The validity of the present agreement may be brought to an end one year after receipt of written notification to that effect by one of the Parties.

4. Done in Yalta on 3 September 1993 into two copies, each in the Russian and Ukrainian languages, both texts being equally authentic.