Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that de-ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a treaty aimed at prohibiting nuclear weapons testing.
The treaty was originally signed in 1996 and ratified by Russia in 2000. This move by Russia is seen as a step towards achieving equality with Western powers, according to Russian officials.
While the United States also signed the treaty, it failed to ratify its content and implement its regulations. Other countries, including China, Israel, Iran, and North Korea, have also not finalized their commitment to the treaty.
The withdrawal of Russia from the CTBT does not come as a surprise, as Putin has been signaling his intentions to de-ratify the agreement since the invasion of Ukraine began. In October, both the lower and upper houses of the Russian Parliament approved the de-ratification of the treaty.
In a show of military strength, Putin oversaw a military exercise last month that simulated a nuclear strike in response to a nuclear attack.
The exercise involved multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, with Putin directing the exercise via video call with top military officials.
Despite the withdrawal from the treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated last month that Moscow will continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if the United States does so first.
The Kremlin has also noted recent U.S. nuclear tests that utilized chemicals and radioisotopes to "validate new predictive explosion models" that can help detect atomic blasts in other countries.
Login