Russia has not received any explanation through diplomatic channels as to what US President Donald Trump meant when he announced the resumption of nuclear testing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.
“No, so far we have not received any explanation through diplomatic channels regarding what President Trump meant when he spoke about resuming nuclear tests,” the minister said.
Answering a question about what exactly the US president meant by his words on nuclear testing, Lavrov said it remains unclear whether Trump was referring to tests of nuclear weapon delivery systems or subcritical tests.
“It is unclear whether he was talking about testing nuclear delivery systems or conducting so-called subcritical tests,” the minister said.
Subcritical tests are experiments that do not involve a nuclear chain reaction. They are conducted by all nuclear-armed states to maintain the safety and reliability of their arsenals. Such tests do not contradict these states’ voluntary commitments and do not violate the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
“Or perhaps Trump really meant that Washington intends to resume full-scale nuclear testing,” Lavrov added.
Statements by US officials following Trump’s remarks on resuming nuclear testing rather indicate a lack of common understanding of his words, Lavrov added.
“The comments by Washington representatives that reach the public space suggest that there is no unified understanding of what exactly the US president meant,” the minister told reporters.
Putin’s Nuclear Test Directive 'In Progress'
President Vladimir Putin’s directive to submit proposals on the feasibility of preparing for nuclear tests is currently being implemented, and the public will be informed of the results, Lavrov said.
“As for President Putin’s instruction at the Security Council meeting on November 5, it has been accepted for execution and is now in progress,” Lavrov told reporters.
“The public will be informed of the results,” he added.
On Wednesday, Putin chaired a meeting of the Russian Security Council, during which Defense Minister Andrey Belousov suggested it would be advisable to begin preparations for the possible resumption of nuclear testing at the Novaya Zemlya test site. Putin instructed the council to gather information, conduct an analysis, and submit proposals on the potential start of preparatory work for nuclear weapons testing.
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