Russia warns US against nuclear testing under Trump

(CLO) According to Russian media, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump not to resume nuclear testing.

Sergei Ryabkov stressed that Russia would keep all options open to deal with what he called Washington's "extremely hostile" policy.

American flag and Russian flag. Illustration: AI

The resumption of nuclear testing by the United States and Russia – the world’s two largest nuclear powers – could mark a new period of uncertainty, nearly 80 years since the first nuclear test at Alamogordo, New Mexico in July 1945.

Currently, Russia, the United States and China are all implementing programs to modernize their nuclear arsenals, while Cold War-era arms control treaties between the Soviet Union and the United States are gradually weakening.

"The current international situation is extremely difficult. US policy is in many respects very hostile to Russia. Therefore, the necessary measures to ensure security and send the appropriate political signal will not rule out any possibility," Mr. Ryabkov said in an interview with Russia's Kommersant newspaper.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), signed in 1996, was a major step toward stopping nuclear testing. Russia ratified the treaty in 2000, while the United States signed the treaty but never ratified it.

In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally withdrew Russia's ratification of the treaty, putting the country in a similar position to the United States. Putin has said that Russia would consider nuclear testing if the United States did so first.

During his first presidential term from 2017-2021, the Trump administration discussed resuming nuclear testing, according to a 2020 Washington Post report.

Some experts fear that the US could return to nuclear testing to develop new weapons and send a message of deterrence to Russia and China.

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Russia currently possesses about 5,580 nuclear warheads, while the United States has 5,044. These two countries account for about 88% of the total nuclear weapons worldwide. China ranks third with about 500 warheads.

Between 1945 and the signing of the CTBT in 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests took place worldwide, with the United States conducting 1,032 and the Soviet Union conducting 715.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia did not conduct any further tests. The last Soviet test took place in 1990.

However, Mr Putin recently lowered the threshold for using Russian nuclear weapons, a move that came after Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking deep into Russian territory with long-range missiles supplied by the US and the West.

Cao Phong (according to Kommersant, TASS, Independent)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nga-canh-bao-my-khong-nen-thu-nghiem-hat-nhan-duoi-thoi-ong-trump-post327921.html