Moscow is paying close attention to activities at a nuclear test range in Nevada, Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said
Moscow will not carry out tests of its nuclear weapons as long as Washington refrains from doing so, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday.
Ryabkov’s statement followed a US announcement last week that it had performed a successful subcritical nuclear experiment at the PULSE facility in Nevada. According to the National Nuclear Security Administration, the trials allowed it to collect “essential data” on atomic warheads “without the use of nuclear explosive testing.”
“We are looking closely at what is happening at the American nuclear test site. Of course, we register and monitor all public signals coming from the US administration in this area,” the deputy foreign minister said.
Russia understands that such subcritical experiments are being done “as part of testing of the performance of the relevant components and systems of the US nuclear arsenal,” the diplomat added.
Washington has previously said that subcritical experiments are not prohibited under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which forbids nuclear test explosions in all environments. Both the US and Russia signed the 1996 accord, but stopped short of ratifying it.
”Our stance remains unchanged: as long as the US does not conduct actual nuclear tests, Russia will also adhere to this position,” Ryabkov stated.