Russia Announces Its Withdrawal From Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Vladimir Putin

The Russian parliament’s lower house announced on Tuesday that Russia is withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty due to the United States’ irresponsible approach to global security.

President Vladimir Putin, who proposed earlier this month that Russia reverse ratification of the 1996 treaty because the United States had not ratified it, said he was not ready to announce if Russia would recommence nuclear testing.

“We are withdrawing the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the interests of ensuring our country’s security”, Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin stated ahead of a discussion and parliamentary vote on revoking ratification.

Volodin stated that while Russia had ratified the treaty in 2000, the United States did not because of its irresponsible attitude to global security issues.

“The Russian Federation will do everything to protect its citizens and to maintain global strategic parity”, Volodin continued.

While Russia withdraws its ratification, it will remain a signatory and will continue to work with the Nuclear Tests Ban Treaty organization and the global monitoring system, which informs the world of any test.

A resumption of nuclear tests by Russia, the United States, or China might signal the start of a new nuclear arms race between the major nations that ceased nuclear testing in the years following the Soviet Union’s demise in 1991.

For many scientists and activists, the Cold War’s flurry of nuclear weapon testing demonstrated the foolishness of nuclear brinkmanship, which may eventually kill humanity and poison the earth for hundreds of thousands of years.

However, the Ukraine war has heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington to their highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, at the same time that China seeks to expand its nuclear arsenal to reflect its role as an emerging superpower.

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Spriha Rai