Russia will cancel ratification of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBT), said on Friday that Moscow would withdraw its ratification of the pact, a move Washington condemned as jeopardising the "global norm" against nuclear test explosions.

Source: European Pravda, referring to Reuters

Details: Ulyanov, Moscow's envoy to the CTBT, said that "Russia plans to revoke ratification (which took place in the year 2000) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty".

"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.

The CTBT has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178, but it cannot enter into force until it is signed and ratified by the eight abstaining countries. China, Egypt, Iran and Israel have signed but not ratified the CTBT. North Korea, India and Pakistan have not signed the pact.

Although the United States has signed but not ratified the treaty, it has maintained a moratorium on nuclear weapons tests since 1992, which it says it has no plans to abandon.

"We are disturbed by the comments of Ambassador Ulyanov in Vienna today. A move like this by any State Party needlessly endangers the global norm against nuclear explosive testing," the US State Department said in a statement.

Washington views Moscow's plan to withdraw its ratification of the CTBT as a way to increase pressure on the US and other countries to end arms and other aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces.

Ulyanov's statement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow may consider withdrawing its ratification of the CTBT.

"It would be concerning and deeply unfortunate if any State Signatory were to reconsider its ratification of the CTBT," said Robert Floyd, executive director of the CTBT, which monitors compliance with the pact.

Background:

• In September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, called for the nuclear disarmament of Russia.
• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has resorted to nuclear threats from time to time. Intelligence and the leaders of Western states generally consider such a scenario unlikely.
• In addition, this year, Russia decided to suspend its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which set limits on the nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States.

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