A Kremlin spokesperson has rebuked a claim by an American diplomat that Moscow was preparing to test a nuclear weapon. Russia maintains it is committed to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty so long as other parties adhere to it.
On Friday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, responded to questions about a potential nuclear weapons test. “At the moment, everyone is observing the moratorium. There is nothing more to say,” he said.
Peskov made the statement in response to a claim made by US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy. The diplomat asserted that Moscow was the only government considering breaking the test ban treaty.
Peskov’s remarks are in line with what Putin said earlier this year, Russia will only carry out a strategic test in response to the US detonating a nuclear weapon. "If the United States conducts tests, then we will," the Russian leader stated in February. "No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed.”
Both Washington and Moscow have traded accusations that the other is preparing a nuclear weapons test without providing evidence. For well over a year, American officials have also repeated claims that North Korea will conduct its seventh nuclear weapons test.
The finger-pointing comes as the Bulletin for Atomic Scientists warns the risks of a catastrophic nuclear war are at the highest point ever. Since the end of the Cold War, Washington has destroyed several arms control agreements with Moscow, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and the Open Skies Agreement.
Earlier this year, Moscow suspended its involvement in the New Start Treaty, the last bilateral agreement between the US and Russia limiting nuclear weapons. The Kremlin expressed that part of the reason the agreement was suspended was due to Washington assisting Kiev in striking a Russian strategic military facility.
While Moscow has officially suspended its participation in New Start, it continues to adhere to most of the limits set in the agreement. In March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, "On a voluntary basis, the Russian Federation will adhere to the central quantitative limits on strategic nuclear weapons set by the treaty and will also continue to abide by the 1988 agreement on mutual notifications on missile launches."
Vladimir Yermakov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Arms Control Department, voiced earlier this week that talks between Moscow and Washington on nuclear arms control should not be expected any time soon. "In the given circumstances, no major negotiations can be conducted with the United States or the West in general," he stated on Tuesday.
Yermakov explained that part of Russia’s current concerns are America’s buildup of strategic assets in the Asia-Pacific. While Washington sees its military escalation in the region as a counter to Pyongyang and Beijing, Moscow’s territory also stretches into the region.
On Wednesday, US officials announced an American submarine carrying nuclear weapons will visit the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, Yermakov expressed concerns about potential American missile installations in Japan.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
“They don’t like us anyhow, let’s drop the big one and see what happens”…? Are we fated to it?
The Biden admin sure seems to want a world war. A year of calling the guy working to end the world the “lesser evil” that MUST be voted for is going to get old fast.
And I’m too busy trying to learn be the time you all are leaving us to bother with voting anyway.
In his pea sized brain, I do believe he thinks that he is acting like what a Imperial President should act like. No diplomacy, commit funds to war and not home, make campaign promises that are jokes to him because he knows he will not keep them. I can hardly wait for what is in store for us next year.
“No one likes us. I don’t know why…”
Certain personality traits, perhaps, like arrogance and hubris?…
Obviously the US is preparing a nuclear weapons test, this is the US MO. You blame the victims for your crimes against humanity.
The United States is sending Ukraine sensors that can detect bursts of radiation from a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb and can confirm the identity of the attacker. In other words the US will set off a nuclear explosion and blame it on Russia.
US blew up Nord Stream pipelines, blamed Russia.
US shot down MH17, blamed Russia.
US shelled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, blamed Russia
US shot and murdered police and civilians in the Maidan, blamed Russia.
US overthrew the government in Kiev, blamed Russia.
US murdered dozens of ethnic Russian civilians in Bucha, blamed Russia.
US bio weapons labs in Ukraine against all conventions were blamed on Russia.
The entire Anti Terrorist operation in the Donbass is a US/NATO ethnic cleansing campaign. Up is Down, Black is White its all just big lies after big lies.
Obama, Biden, Clinton et al. must go before the Hague to answer for their many many crimes against humanity.
I don’t believe it. We can take Putin out. Russia has no math, physics, science, or nuclear weapons. They don’t even read books. Our sanctions crushed their economy. They can’t use chips from washing machines to make their famous military shovels, let alone hypersonic ICBMs. They’re a “gas station masquerading as a country.” …What’s that? You think I’m kidding? Go ask Lindsey Graham or your neighbors. They’ll set you straight. (Sarcasm alert real bad)
It’s amazing what self=serving tripe Americans will buy into to avoid confronting the truth.
All you really need, TC, is good old fashioned American T.V.
Russia does maintenance work and we get some satellite photos of that activity.
It’s time to accuse them of a upcoming dastardly deed and that’ll convince everyone we need to continue arming Ukraine.
Sure, that sounds completely cartoonish but sometimes it is the simple cartoonish first thought that turns out to be true.
Both sides continue to push the edges of the envelope… It’s just a matter of time…
Word of the day: VAPORIZE.
The Russian MOD is fighting a very successful war of attrition disarming NATO (Ukraine was disarmed in March 2022), tank by tank, artillery by artillery, air defense by air defense. Russia now will fight NATO to the last European.
NATO overall has accumulated the following equipment losses;
413 Aircraft, 230 helicopters, 3901 UAV’s, 421 Anti Aircraft systems, 8904 tanks inc. APC’s, 1095 multiple rocket launchers, 4688 rocket launchers and 9843 military automotive equipment.
These equipment losses are draining NATO taxpayers of their wealth and future. The flood of money that is required to maintain these losses is causing inflation and if it continues Europe and America will see hyper inflation and the crash of their money system. The NATO country expenditures (looting of Western tax payers by the professional criminal class) are taking away the future of Western nations.
What the empire looses in the Ukraine, they loose for the final Russian attack on NATO. Remember Russia attacked Ukraine just as NATO was about to unleash in the Donbass. Russia has shown they will pre-emptively attack to defend the Motherland when the time is dictated by events on the ground.
Nuclear world war anyone? The professional criminal class greed is destroying everything. Look at the destruction of the oil depots in Sevastopol, but global warming and the planet right? Blowing up Nord Stream saw the biggest hydrocarbon release the globe has ever seen, but global warming and the planet right? The planet be damned.
Its all just big lies after big lies. The enemy is the professional criminal class and we need to declare war on them before they kill us all. The professional criminal class control all levers of power and are completely out of control.