Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the bill to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), according to the relevant document published on the official legal information portal on Thursday.
Russian parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin earlier said that the lower house would consider withdrawing the ratification of the document at its earliest session as a mirror response to the United States.
During the Valdai Discussion Club's plenary session last month, the Russian President stated that Moscow could follow Washington's example by withdrawing its ratification of the treaty from the lower house of parliament. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Russia's potential refusal to ratify the CTBT does not imply a desire to conduct nuclear tests.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed in 1996. Nevertheless, some countries, including the US, have not ratified it, unlike Russia, who did so in 2000. At the same time, countries with nuclear weapons have voluntarily committed to refraining from such tests.
Three countries, namely India, North Korea, and Pakistan, have not signed the treaty while five countries, including the United States, China, Egypt, Israel, and Iran, have signed it but have not yet ratified it.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits all nuclear explosions for both military and peaceful purposes in all areas, including the atmosphere, space, underwater, and underground. This is an absolute and all-encompassing prohibition, which is indefinite.
In March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that US actions were causing the situation surrounding the CTBT to become more and more concerning.