Back to a story we’ve been reporting on for several weeks now, and Russia is officially revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament has said.
Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in the “interests of ensuring the security of Russia”, the country was withdrawing the ratification of the treaty.
Mr Volodin said that while Russia had ratified the 1996 treaty in 2000, Washington had failed to ratify because of its “irresponsible attitude to global security issues”.
Russian officials have said that the revocation of ratification does not mean Russia is going to test a nuclear bomb and that it is simply coming into line with the US position.
What is the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
The 1996 treaty bans “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world.
A total of 187 states have signed the treaty, and 178 have ratified it by passing corresponding laws in their parliaments.
Of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons: Britain, France and Russia have signed and ratified.
The US, Israel and China have signed it but not ratified.
And India, Pakistan and North Korea have yet to sign or ratify.
The treaty has not legally come into force and can only do so once it is signed and ratified by 44 named countries – the nine with nuclear weapons and 35 others that possess nuclear power and research reactors.
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