Russia has taken back 1.6 tons of highly enriched uranium which is removed from reactors abroad, the Russian State Atomic Agency Rosatom said Friday.

"Russia has removed 1.6 tons of uranium from various countries. Using modern technology, this is enough to produce 65 to 100 nuclear warheads," said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Rosatom.

Russia started taking back fissionable materials from nuclear power plants abroad in correspondence with the Return of Research Reactor Spent Fuel to the Country of Origin, which was initiated by the United States and Russia in 1999.

The program was designed to prevent the proliferation of the spent nuclear materials from Russian and U.S. nuclear power plants, which use highly enriched uranium as fuel. It could be used to produce nuclear weapons in third countries.

"The responsibility of Russia and the United States (in nuclear sphere) is so high that no political conjuncture could affect their obligations (in nuclear safety program)," Kiriyenko stressed.

He added that Moscow and Washington alike have been eager to ensure nuclear safety in the world.

The spent nuclear fuel returned to Russia is reprocessed to 20 percent from its initial 90-percent level and could be used for scientific purposes.