Putin Orders Russian Officials to Prepare for Possible Nuclear Weapons Testing Following US Announcement

Moscow:

Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his senior officials on Wednesday to develop proposals regarding potential nuclear weapons testing following US President Donald Trump's recent statement about resuming such tests in America.

Putin emphasized that Russia has consistently complied with its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, but clarified that if the United States or any other nuclear power conducts tests, Russia would respond in kind.

Defense Minister Andrei Belousov informed Putin that recent American statements and actions make it "advisable to prepare for full-scale nuclear tests" without delay.

Belousov noted that Russia's Arctic testing facility at Novaya Zemlya could rapidly accommodate such tests if needed.

"I am instructing the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry... the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests," Putin stated.

The United States last conducted nuclear testing in 1992, while China and France performed their final tests in 1996, and the Soviet Union in 1990. Russia, which inherited the Soviet nuclear arsenal following the dissolution of the USSR, has never conducted nuclear tests.