At a meeting with Russia’s Security Council on Wednesday, President Putin ordered the foreign and defense ministries, intelligence agencies and civilian agencies to assess the possibility of resuming nuclear tests and present preliminary proposals.
“Russia is obliged to take reciprocal measures,” the meeting minutes released by the Kremlin said.
“In this regard, I instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the special agencies and the corresponding civilian agencies to do their best to collect additional information on this matter, have it analyzed by the Security Council and submit a coordinated proposal for the first steps, which may focus on preparing for nuclear weapons tests,” Putin said.
His directive was an apparent response to President Donald Trump’s order on October 30 for Washington to resume nuclear testing “immediately” on an “equal basis” with other nuclear-weapon states, ending a moratorium on nuclear testing that has been in place since 1992.
President Trump made the decision just days after condemning Russia for testing a new Burevestnik missile, a nuclear weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Putin also stressed that Russia is “obliged to respond” if the United States or any other signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) conducts a nuclear test.
Russia has not conducted a nuclear explosion since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but the Kremlin is now signaling it may reconsider its stance if the United States acts first.
MNA/Press TV