“I welcome this significant announcement from President Medvedev. This important step forward continues to demonstrate Russia’s leadership on nuclear security issues, and will add momentum to our shared global effort.”

BACKGROUND: The ADE-2 reactor has been producing weapons-grade plutonium for nearly 52 years in the formerly secret Siberian city of Zheleznogorsk. Russian President Medvedev announced the imminent shutdown at President Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.