Russia is apparently planning to withdraw from the international treaty banning nuclear weapons (CTBT) – a draft law is currently being drafted that will seal the withdrawal. The head of the CTBT is therefore “concerned about global well-being”.
According to government information, Russia will only conduct another nuclear test if the US does so. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said this on Tuesday, according to the official Russian news agency TASS.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow is drafting a bill under which Russia will revoke ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Russia now has ten days
In concrete terms, this concerns the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Since Monday, the Russian parliament has had ten days to clarify the details. President Vladimir Putin has already publicly stated that Russia could resume nuclear testing.
Treaty “in the interests of all humanity”
“I am concerned that the Russian Federation is taking steps to withdraw ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),” Robert Floyd, executive secretary general of the CTBT, said in a statement on Monday.
“I have been in close and regular contact with senior representatives of the Russian Federation and have made it clear to them that ratification of the CTBT is in Russia’s national interest as well as in the interest of all humanity,” Floyd continued.
Treaty already ratified, but still not in force
The 1996 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear weapons tests for military or civilian purposes worldwide. Although more than 180 countries have signed it and more than 160 countries have ratified it, it has not yet entered into force. Signatures of eight countries, including China, the US, Iran and North Korea, are missing.
The Viennese organization, which will only become official when the CTBT comes into effect, has nevertheless already set up a global monitoring system that can record nuclear weapon explosions. For example, North Korea’s bomb tests were recorded. Russia signed it in 1996 and ratified it in 2000.
Source: Krone
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