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Moscow has hinted that it may withdraw from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, with the Russian president Vladimir Poutine broached the idea on Thursday and the head of Russia’s parliament suggested on Friday that a vote could be quickly considered.
“At the next meeting of the State Duma Council, we will definitely discuss the issue of revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,” said Russia’s top lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
In response, Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBT), said: “It would be worrying and deeply regrettable if any signatory state reconsidered its ratification of the CTBT. »
The treaty has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178. However, it cannot come into force until it is ratified by eight holdout countries: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States -United States signed it but did not ratify it; North Korea, India and Pakistan have not yet signed it.
Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and recently suggested it could resume nuclear weapons testing.
Stating that “Washington and Brussels have started a war against our country,” Vyacheslav Volodin said, (the withdrawal) is in line with our national interests. And this will constitute a response in return to the United States, which has still not ratified the treaty. »
On Thursday, Putin noted that unlike the United States, which signed but did not ratify the 1996 treaty, Russia had ratified it in 2000.
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