Russian Ambassador to US: Russia Will Not Be First to Resume Nuclear Testing

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will not be the first to resume nuclear testing but will be ready for a "mirror response" if the United States resumes such tests first, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said Tuesday.

"The US State Department blatantly distorted the essence of [Russian] President Vladimir Putin’s February address to the Russian Federal Assembly," the Russian Embassy quoted Antonov as saying on Telegram.

"The Russian leader made it clear: the US policy is disruptive. In case the United States resumes nuclear testing, we will be ready with a mirror response. However, we will not be the first ones to take such a step."

Antonov accused Washington of overstepping "the boundaries of decency" in the attempts "at wishful thinking," adding that US officials "hit a new low."

"Russia adheres to the unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests in a consistent and responsible manner. We ratified the CTBT [Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty] back in 2000. In turn, the United States has failed not only to follow our example, but even to lift a finger to bring the Treaty into force," the ambassador said.

He added that Washington "has been feeding the world with promises to facilitate the CTBT’s entry into force" for 30 years.

"But in fact it remains a renegade. Other countries in their decisions on this issue look at the US who in fact contributes to the erosion of this important agreement on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation," he said.

The ambassador recalled that the US is the only state "that has used nuclear weapons" and has done it "against the civilian population," referring to the nuclear bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945. He said Washington would take measures to ratify the treaty if it "felt even a drop of shame and guilt for what it did."

"The United States’ policy, including on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, is based on the assumption that someone else is always to blame for the destruction of international security foundations," Antonov said.

"As a rule, they point their finger at Russia. This time, if Washington does not resist the temptation to resume nuclear testing - which cannot be ruled out - it is the CTBT that will fall the victim."

In February 2023, Putin announced in his address to the Federal Assembly that Russia was suspending participation in the New START treaty, which entered into force on February 5, 2011, and was designed to limit the number of strategic offensive arms possessed by Moscow and Washington.

The Russian president also said there was information that the US was considering the possibility of testing nuclear weapons and ordered that the Russian Defense Ministry and Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom be ready to test nuclear weapons if the US conducts the test first.