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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The lower house of the Russian parliament on Wednesday approved President Vladimir Putin’s decree on suspending a plutonium accord with the United States, Russian news agencies reported.

The agreement was concluded in 2000 and bound the two sides to dispose of surplus plutonium originally intended for use in nuclear weapons.

Agencies said the suspension was approved by 445 of 450 deputies in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.