Head of nuclear test ban body issues warning to US and Russia, AP says

Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), has warned that if the United States, Russia or any other country resumes nuclear testing, other states will inevitably follow suit.

Source: Associated Press

Details: Floyd issued the warning at the opening of a United Nations review of a separate treaty aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The process is taking place against the backdrop of the war in Iran, which US President Donald Trump has said is necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The head of the CTBTO said he had recently visited Moscow, where he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that "it is not in any state's interest to see an unconstrained return to testing". He added that he has also met with US State Department officials and will welcome the opportunity to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"That is a spiral that we do not want to see start, because it may never be able to be stopped," Floyd stressed.

He also noted that the organisation's international monitoring system is capable of detecting even a relatively small nuclear explosion anywhere in the world. The secretary added that any state considering the development of nuclear weapons would have to test them, and "if they did it will be known to all".

Background:

• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was adopted in 1996 but has still not entered into force. For this to happen, it must be ratified by 44 specific countries, nine of which have not yet done so. The US, China, Iran, Egypt and Israel have signed the treaty but have not ratified it. India, Pakistan and North Korea have not signed the treaty at all. Russia previously ratified the document but formally withdrew its ratification in November 2023.
• At the end of 2025, Trump publicly accused Russia and China of conducting secret nuclear tests. After that, he instructed the Pentagon to immediately begin testing US nuclear weapons "on an equal basis".
• In response to Trump's statements, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed that Moscow would resume nuclear testing only if Washington did so first.

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