Russia’s ratification of the international treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons testing was withdrawn on Thursday when President Vladimir Putin signed a statute, a move that was denounced by the group that advocates for adherence to the historic arms control agreement.
The action, albeit not surprising, demonstrates the extreme cold war that exists between the US and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine and what Moscow perceives as US attempts to obstruct the formation of a new multipolar global order. Ties between the two countries have not been this strong since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Washington stated that it was gravely concerned about Russia’s choice and that it was a bad move.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in a statement that “Russia’s action will only serve to set back confidence in the international arms control regime.”
Moscow claims that the only reason it deratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was to align itself with the US, which signed the agreement but never ratified it. According to Russian diplomats, Russia won’t restart nuclear testing unless Washington does.
They further claim that since Moscow would continue to be a signatory to treaties, the move will not affect Russia’s nuclear posture—it has the greatest nuclear arsenal in the world—or the way it communicates information about its nuclear activities.
However, a few Western experts on arms control are worried that Russia might be creeping closer to a nuclear test in an effort to scare people during the conflict in Ukraine.
In response to proposals from certain Russian security experts and MPs to test a nuclear weapon as a warning to the West, Putin stated on October 5 that he was not ready to say whether or not Russia should resume nuclear testing.
If such a move were to take place, it might start a new phase of large-scale nuclear testing.
Russia’s move was denounced by Robert Floyd, the head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty Organisation, whose duties include advancing treaty recognition and strengthening the organization’s verification framework to guarantee that no nuclear tests occur covertly.
Floyd, who stated on X, then known as Twitter, that he had attempted to persuade top Russian authorities to reconsider, said, “Today’s decision by the Russian Federation to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is very disappointing and deeply regrettable.”
Post Soviet No nuclear tests have been conducted by Russia. The latest tests conducted by the US in 1992 and the USSR in 1990. This century, no nation has tested using a nuclear explosion other than North Korea.
Russia’s delegitimization of the CTBT, according to Andrey Baklitskiy, senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, is a step towards a “slippery slope” towards testing again.
He stated last month on X that it is a part of a troubling trend in recent years that has seen arms control agreements cancelled or suspended.
“We don’t know what steps will follow and when, but we know where this road ends. And we don’t want to go there,” he remarked.
On a government website, Putin’s approval of the de-ratification law was announced, along with the statement that it became effective right away. The move has already been authorised by the Russian parliament.
