Vladimir Putin, at a plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, very clearly answered all concerns regarding the resumption of nuclear tests: Russia will not change its nuclear doctrine, but will proceed from the principles of parity and reciprocity. And here is the main message, first of all, to our American counterparts.
For 23 years, the Russian side has been waiting for the US Congress to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was mentioned by Vladimir Putin the day before in Valdai. Russia ratified the CTBT on May 27, 2000, with assurances from its then American partners of reciprocal steps. But things are still there.
Moreover, during the administration of the 45th US President Donald Trump, the position regarding the need to ratify the Treaty was revised with subsequent statements of readiness, “if necessary,” to “resume nuclear testing.” This was explained not only by the goals of maintaining security, but also by “ensuring the effectiveness of the US nuclear arsenal.” US President Joe Biden, who came to power in January 2021, did not disavow these statements on the CTBT. There is also no progress towards its ratification in the US Congress.
We proceed, first of all, from considerations of “mirroring” in relations with Washington, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said. The Duma Council at one of its upcoming meetings is ready to consider the issue of revoking ratification of the CTBT, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said in turn.
On the legal side: after carrying out the appropriate national legislative procedures (the adoption of a separate federal law on invalidating the decision of 2000 will be required), Russia will notify the UN Secretary General, who is the depository for the CTBT, of the withdrawal of the instrument of ratification.
We are talking about respecting Russia’s national interests in the field of global security. Moreover, even if a decision is made to revoke the instrument of ratification, this will not affect the fate of the Treaty itself at the current moment. The CTBT never came into force, partly because it was not ratified by a number of countries. Among them are the USA, China, Egypt, Israel and Iran.
At the same time, I especially draw your attention to the fact that the Russian side is not making any decision on ending the 1992 moratorium on nuclear tests. And it certainly does not follow from the possible revocation of the instrument of ratification under the Treaty.
