KEY POINTS
- Putin ordered Russian security agencies to prepare proposals for nuclear-weapons testing.
- The move came directly after Trump said Washington must be ready to “resume real nuclear tests.”
- Putin said Russia would not be the first to break the moratorium but would respond if another nuclear power tested first.
- Deputy Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told the meeting that Russia’s test site at Novaya Zemlya was fully prepared for underground detonations.
- Analysts see the exchange as the sharpest escalation in nuclear rhetoric since the Cold War put the CTBT at stake
ISLAMABAD: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday instructed relevant Russian agencies to submit coordinated proposals on “the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests.”
According to international media, Putin ordered the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, intelligence services, and relevant civilian agencies to gather additional information (on nuclear weapon testing) and analyse the situation at the Security Council.
The renewed war of nuclear words between Washington and Moscow flared this week after US President Donald Trump signalled that the United States might restart testing Nuclear weapons — a declaration made in Seoul during his Asia tour — prompting an immediate directive from Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider resuming tests of his own.
Speaking at a joint news conference in South Korea last Thursday, President Trump said the United States “must maintain and, if needed, demonstrate our nuclear capabilities through actual testing.”
The comment, carried by major U.S. networks and later confirmed by White House officials, was interpreted by arms-control experts as signalling a potential end to Washington’s moratorium that has held since 1992.
Within days, Russian state media reported that President Putin convened a Security Council meeting in Moscow to discuss the implications of Trump’s statement.
According to the Kremlin’s official transcript, Putin instructed the Foreign Ministry, Defence Ministry, intelligence services and civilian agencies “to collect additional information, analyse it at the Security Council and submit coordinated proposals on the possible start of work for preparing nuclear-weapons tests,” as reported by both Reuters and AP.
Putin said Russia had strictly observed the moratorium on nuclear detonations and continued to comply with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), even after withdrawing its ratification in 2023.
However, he warned that Moscow would respond in kind if any other nuclear power resumed testing. “If others cross that line, we will not remain silent,” he told the meeting, as reported by RIA Novosti, RT.
Deputy Defence Minister Andrei Belousov supported the directive, stating that given the “new strategic realities,” it was “advisable to begin immediate preparations.”
He said the Arctic test complex at Novaya Zemlya remained operational and could host a full-scale test on short notice, according to Reuters.
The Kremlin’s announcement was echoed by Defence Ministry sources who told Russian media that scientific staff and monitoring systems at the Novaya Zemlya range were being upgraded for “technical readiness,” TASS reported.
In Washington, the Pentagon avoided confirming any timetable for renewed testing, saying only that the President’s remarks reflected a review of “strategic deterrence capabilities.”
US officials argued that Trump’s statement was aimed at deterrence rather than a formal order to detonate a device, according to reports by AP and CNN.
International reaction was swift. The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs urged all signatories of the CTBT to “exercise restraint,” and European governments expressed concern that the exchange could unravel decades of arms-control progress.
Chinese state broadcaster CGTN and Turkey’s TRT World both described Putin’s response as a “measured but firm warning” that mirrored the tone of Trump’s comments in Seoul.
Security analysts warned that the rhetorical escalation between the two largest nuclear powers risks reviving a global arms race. “If the U.S. and Russia return to explosive testing, others will follow,” said a former UN weapons inspector quoted by Reuters.
