VIENNA, May 29. /TASS/. Russia is observing the moratorium on nuclear tests, Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Wednesday.

Ulyanov was commenting on the remarks made earlier by director of the 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 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

"We have voluntarily and unilaterally established a moratorium on nuclear tests since the end of the 1980s. We are observing it," Ulyanov said adding that Ashley's suspicions are not backed up by facts and convincing arguments.

The diplomat also noted that even though the US signed the CTBT, they never ratified it. "Americans promised [to ratify the Treaty] but never did so. The new US administration said they were not even going to do this," Ulyanov said.

"Last year Americans said that they will maintain nuclear test sites in the condition of readiness for a possible resumption of nuclear tests. This position serves as evidence that the US moratorium is unreliable, and they can cast it aside at any moment," Ulyanov said.