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Russia is ready to take appropriate response measures if the United States deploys weapons banned under the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in Europe.
This was stated by Vladimir Ermkov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's arms control department, in a recent interview. Ermkov currently heads the Russian delegation to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with disarmament issues.
According to Mr. Ermkov, Russia believes that the US will not give up the idea of conducting a full-scale nuclear test as part of the modernization of its nuclear arsenal.
"Washington continues to keep the Nevada nuclear test site on high alert. We believe that the Americans will not abandon the idea of conducting a full-fledged nuclear test as part of the modernization of their nuclear arsenal," Ermkov stressed.
The diplomat said Russia would continue to fulfill its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in the event of withdrawal. He said the withdrawal would not undermine Russia’s constructive approach to the CTBT and did not mean Moscow intended to resume nuclear tests.
"Russia ratified the CTBT in 2000 and has been patiently waiting for the United States to take a similar step since then. However, there is no prospect that Washington intends to do so," Ermkov added, adding that Russia does not believe the US administration has "problems" with Congress over ratification.
Mr. Ermkov affirmed that Russia will not conduct nuclear tests first and will only carry them out if the United States takes such steps.
"As Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on February 21, 2023, we will not be the first to conduct nuclear tests. Russia will do this only if the United States does it first," Ermkov said.
During the plenary session of the 20th Annual Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi on October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could withdraw the ratification of the CTBT from the Lower House of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Russian Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on October 6 that the House of Representatives will consider withdrawing the ratification of this document at the earliest session.
According to Tin Tuc newspaper