KIEV, June 9 - Ukraine has removed most of its enriched uranium from the country’s territory, meeting its commitment made at a nuclear non-proliferation summit in Washington last year, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.
Ukraine first made the commitment in April 2010 at the first face-to-face meeting between President Viktor Yanukovych and U.S. President Barack Obama.
"Ukraine has practically fulfilled its obligations to remove enriched uranium," Azarov said after meeting International Atomic Agency Director General Yukiya Amano.
Critics said that Yanukovych, who needed international recognition after winning election in February 2010, had agreed to remove the uranium merely to secure a handshake and a picture with Obama.
The cost of the enriched uranium in Ukraine was estimated at about $1 billion, making it the “most expensive picture and the most expensive handshake ever,” according to opposition lawmakers.
The amount of nuclear materials exported from Ukraine in 2010 totaled 106 kg.
In exchange for enriched uranium Ukrainian research institutions were provided with low enriched uranium for research purposes as well as financial support for other scientific projects.
The remaining enriched uranium is to be exported from Ukraine by April 2012 before the start of Seoul 2012 Nuclear Security Summit.
The White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had previously stated that the amount of uranium removed from Ukraine in 2010 would be enough to make "several nuclear weapons."
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