Moscow, Oct 6 (EFE).- Russia is contemplating to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the head of its lower house of parliament said on Friday.
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the lower house would “certainly” discuss the issue of revoking the ratification of the CTBT.
“This is in line with the national interests of our state,” Volodin wrote on his telegram channel. “It will be a mirror response to the US, which has not yet ratified the treaty.”
He said the situation in the world had changed, alleging that the United States and the European Union had “unleashed a war against” Russia. “The current challenges demand new decisions.”
Volodin recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech on Thursday at the annual meeting of the Valdai Club in the Black Sea city of Sochi.
Putin raised the possibility of revoking the ratification since the US had signed the 1996 treaty but not ratified it.
“This is a question for lawmakers,” Putin said. “Theoretically, we can revoke this ratification.”
On Thursday, Putin announced the early start of “mass” production of the nuclear-capable Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile, a strategic weapon that, according to Russia, nullifies the US missile shield.
“We have to finish some bureaucratic procedures, move to mass production and its commissioning. And we will do it soon,” he said in Sochi.
Putin stressed that Moscow has “practically” completed work “on the most modern types of strategic armaments” it announced in 2018, particularly the Sarmat, capable of carrying 10-15 individually guided nuclear warheads.
On several occasions, the head of the Kremlin assured that such a missile has a “practically unlimited range” and renders the US missile shield “useless.”
“We have successfully carried out the latest test with the nuclear-powered long-range cruise missile, Burevestnik,” he said.
The New York Times reported this week that a launcher in the New Zembla archipelago, in the Russian Arctic, could be used for a test with the Burevestnik missile, which the Kremlin denied. EFE
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