MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Russia is calling on the US to follow its obligations on banning nuclear tests and reject its destructive policy with regard to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
"The Russian Federation is urging Washington to continue adhering to its obligations in the field of nuclear bans, abandon the destructive course with regard to the CTBT and take urgent measures on ratifying the treaty," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on a "subcritical" experiment at the Nevada National Security Site on May 14.
According to the diplomat, given the information provided by the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), "the experiment does not contradict Russia’s understanding of a ‘subcritical’ test and therefore does not violate the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty or the US moratorium on nuclear tests."
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Russia is closely watching the developments at the Nevada test site. He noted that the experiment aimed to test the capability of the US nuclear arsenal.
The NNSA successfully executed a subcritical experiment at the Nevada National Security Site on May 14. That experiment and all 33 previous US subcritical experiments were consistent with the zero-yield standard of the CTBT, the administration said. NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby said in February that the United States maintained its readiness to carry out an underground nuclear test.