Sergey Ryabkov Photo: Ria Novosti
Russian arms control official Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday that Moscow may consider conducting nuclear tests due to the radical position of the Donald Trump administration on this issue. Reuters reports this with reference to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
Ryabkov, who heads the Office of Arms Control and Nuclear Nonproliferation, said that during Trump’s first term in office (2017-2021), his administration took a radical stance on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
“The international situation is extremely complicated now, and US policy is hostile to us in many aspects,” Ryabkov said.
He also noted that Russia does not rule out measures that could include nuclear tests as a response to possible US actions.
A 2020 Washington Post article reported that the Trump administration was discussing the first US nuclear test since 1992.
Russia, like the United States, has not conducted nuclear tests since the signing of the CTBT. The last Soviet test took place in 1990, while the United States last tested nuclear weapons in 1992.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that Russia may reconsider its position on the tests in response to similar actions by the United States.
The situation in the world
According to the Arms Control Association, only a handful of countries have conducted nuclear tests since the collapse of the USSR:
- USA – 1992,
- China and France – 1996,
- India and Pakistan – 1998,
- North Korea – 2017.
If Russia or the United States decide to resume nuclear testing, it could significantly exacerbate the international situation and trigger an arms race. Observers warn that such steps could undermine the global arms control system.
