Washington (Platts)--13Apr2010/515 am EDT/915 GMT

Ukraine has committed to getting rid of its stocks of highly enriched uranium, or HEU, by the next Nuclear Security Summit, the White House said in a statement Monday.

Nonproliferation sources expect the next summit to take place in 2012. The White House said Ukraine plans to remove a "substantial part" of its highly-enriched uranium stocks this year.

The US will provide technical and financial assistance to help Ukraine with its effort, the White House said.

A civil HEU stock map published online by the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonproliferation group, says Ukraine has a total of 160-250 kilograms of HEU in three locations.

The White House made the announcement about Ukraine's commitment after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met with his US counterpart Barack Obama in Washington during the Nuclear Security Summit, which runs from Monday to Tuesday.