Belarus suspends HEU removal talks with the United States

In response to economic sanctions imposed by the United States, Belarus announced that it decided "to suspend talks with the American side on the project of the exchange of high-enriched nuclear fuel for the low-enriched under the Global Threat Reduction Initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy." The agreement on removal of HEU from Belarus in exchange for LEU fuel was reached during an OSCE summit in Kazakhstan in December 2010. At the time, it was reported that Belarus had about 500 lb (230 kg) of HEU. About 85 kg of HEU was removed from Belarus in November 2010.