KIEV, Feb. 16 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko have signed an agreement on nuclear security in Washington, the U.S. Department of State said in a press release.

The purpose of the agreement is to intensify cooperation in the sphere of protecting vulnerable nuclear materials and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Ukraine has confirmed its promise to get rid of highly enriched uranium by 2012, when a nuclear security summit is due to take place.