US ‘disturbed’ by Russia’s plan to reverse nuclear test ban ratification

The United States said it was “disturbed” by a Russian envoy’s announcement that Moscow will reverse its ratification of a 1996 treaty that banned the testing of nuclear weapons.

The United States said it was “disturbed” by a Russian envoy’s announcement that Moscow will reverse its ratification of a 1996 treaty that banned the testing of nuclear weapons.

Russia’s envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Friday that Moscow will revoke its ratification of the pact.

The announcement by Ulyanov added new fuel to tensions between the world’s largest nuclear weapons powers amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US military support for Kyiv.

Ulyanov said on social media that “Russia plans to revoke ratification [which took place in the year 2000] of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty [CTBT]”.

“The aim is to be on equal footing with the US who signed the treaty, but didn’t ratify it. Revocation doesn’t mean the intention to resume nuclear tests,” he said.