MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s planned withdrawal of its ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear tests does not mean that it intends to conduct such a test, a senior foreign ministry official told Russian media.
Russia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 2000 but the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, is due to vote on Tuesday on a bill to reverse that step.
The Duma is acting on a cue from President Vladimir Putin, who said earlier this month that Russia’s position on the treaty should “mirror” that of the United States. Washington has signed but never ratified the treaty.
TASS news agency quoted Vladimir Yermakov, head of the foreign ministry’s non-proliferation and arms control department, as saying: “Withdrawing ratification by no means undermines our constructive approach to the CTBT and does not mean that our country intends to resume nuclear tests.”
Yermakov said Russia would stick to a testing moratorium it declared in 1992. He said Russia’s position was set out by Putin in February when he said that Russia would only conduct a test if the United States did so first.
No country except North Korea has conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion this century. Against the background of the Ukraine war, security analysts say a resumption of testing now would aggravate tensions still further.
Putin said earlier this month he was not ready to say whether a nuclear test was needed or not.
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan, editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
