Russia will revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to put itself on par with the United States, but will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does it first, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday.
The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, although it has never fully entered into force. It was signed by both the Russian and U.S. presidents but was never ratified by the U.S.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could consider rescinding its 2000 decision to ratify the bill. Putin noted that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.
There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine. Many Russian hawks have spoken in favor of resumption.
The speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, has said that lawmakers will move to rescind ratification of the nuclear test ban. The chamber’s agenda-setting council on Monday gave the foreign affairs committee 10 days to prepare the issue for the house to consider.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov charged that the U.S. “believed that we will keep turning a blind eye” to its failure to ratify the pact, adding that “we hope that Washington will get the signal.”
He pointed out at Putin’s earlier order to make the country’s nuclear testing range ready for resuming tests, emphasizing that “the resumption of tests is possible if the U.S. conducts a test.”
Analysis
Russia’s decision to revoke the ratification of the CTBT is a significant step that could have far-reaching implications. The CTBT is the only international treaty that bans all nuclear tests, and its collapse would deal a major blow to global nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
Russia’s move is also a sign of the growing tensions between Russia and the West. The war in Ukraine has led to a sharp deterioration in relations between the two sides, and Russia’s decision to rescind the CTBT is likely to further escalate the situation.
It is unclear whether Russia will actually resume nuclear tests. Putin has said that he has not yet made a decision on the issue, and Ryabkov has said that Russia will only resume tests if the U.S. does it first. However, the fact that Russia is preparing for the possibility of resuming tests is a worrying sign.
The international community needs to do everything it can to prevent Russia from resuming nuclear tests. A resumption of nuclear testing would be a major setback for global nuclear nonproliferation efforts and would increase the risk of a nuclear war.
Source: with agencies