WASHINGTON, May 30. /TASS/. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) Organization and the international community know very well that Russia is strictly adhering to the agreement, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told TASS on Wednesday.
"The international community, including the CTBT Organization, knows very well that Russia strictly adheres to the agreement. By the way, we have ratified the Treaty a long time ago, while the US have refused to do this for many years," Antonov said, commenting on the remarks by director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley.
Ashley said that "the United States believes that Russia probably is not adhering to its nuclear testing moratorium in a manner consistent with the 'zero-yield' standard" outlined in the CTBT.
"We categorically refute these accusations," the diplomat stressed adding that the method the US used to convey their concerns is suprising. "They did not put this forward at consultations but instead did it through the media," Antonov said. He added that it looks like "a well-planned, orchestrated attack not only at Russia, but also at the arms control regime as a whole, at the architecture of strategic stability."
Moratorium on nuclear tests has been enforced in Russia for almost 30 years. The last nuclear test was conducted at a training range at the Novaya Zemlya island in October 1990.