Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked concern worldwide after he signed legislation on Thursday that pulled his country out of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Officials from Moscow characterized the decision to de-ratify the treaty as a move toward equality with Western powers. The treaty was originally signed by the United States and Russia in 1996 and was ratified in 2000.
Russia's De-Ratification of Global Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation on Thursday for the de-ratification of a global nuclear test ban treaty.Pedro PARDO / AFP) (PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images
Several other countries have failed to finalize their commitment to the international treaty, including China, Israel, Iran, and North Korea. Moscow's decision to withdraw from the CTBT comes as expected to some as Putin has signaled his intentions to de-ratify the agreement since the beginning of his invasion of Ukraine.
In October, both the lower and upper houses of the Russian parliament approved Putin's de-ratification of the treaty. The Russian president oversaw a military exercise that was held last month that simulated a nuclear strike in response to a nuclear attack. It involved multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, as per Fox News.
Russian state television released video footage of Putin directing the exercise via a video call with top military officials. Last month, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabov said that Moscow will continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if Washington conducts such actions first.
The Kremlin also noted that U.S. nuclear tests conducted late last month, which used chemicals and radioisotopes, were meant to "validate new predictive explosion models." Russian officials argued that these can help detect atomic blasts in other nations.
The latest development is also evidence of the deep tensions between the U.S. and Russia, whose ties are considered to be at their lowest since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Washington previously expressed its concerns regarding Moscow's decision to de-ratify the treat, saying that it was a step in the wrong direction.
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia's action will only serve to set back confidence in the international arms control regime. On the other hand, Moscow said that its actions are merely designed to bring the European nation into line with the U.S., according to Reuters.
Additionally, Russian officials said that they would not move to change the nuclear posture of Moscow, which has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world nor would it share information about its nuclear activities as it remains a treaty signatory.
The decision also sparked concern among Western arms control experts who said that Russia could be slowly moving towards a nuclear test in an attempt to intimidate and evoke fear amid its war on Ukraine.
The global nuclear test ban treaty outlaws all nuclear explosions, including live tests of nuclear weapons. However, many have argued that the treaty was never effective and some key countries did not ratify it.
Only a few hours after the upper house vote, Russia's military conducted a "massive" retaliatory nuclear strike drill. It involved the test launch of several missiles from a land-based silo, a nuclear submarine, as well as a long-range bomber aircraft, said Aljazeera.
