MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. Russia has not said that it is going to conduct nuclear weapons tests and is awaiting clarification from Washington on this issue, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russian media outlets, including TASS.
"We have not announced any nuclear tests. As we all know, during a Security Council meeting, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin drew attention to the statement by [US President Donald] Trump claiming that Russia and China have long been conducting such tests," Lavrov noted.
"As you know, we immediately reached out to our counterparts to explain that there must be some kind of misunderstanding on this matter. We are waiting for clarification," he added.
The Russian foreign minister clarified that President Putin’s instructions do not mean that nuclear tests will be conducted or are in the pipeline. "The Foreign Ministry, along with other government agencies, the military, and security services, has been tasked with studying the situation and reaching a consensus on whether it would be necessary to consider resuming nuclear testing," Lavrov explained.
Earlier, Putin and members of Russia’s Security Council discussed Trump’s statements suggesting the United States might resume nuclear testing. The Russian president instructed government agencies to evaluate whether the country should prepare for such tests, emphasizing that Moscow remains committed to its obligations under the international treaty banning nuclear tests and would act only if any of the treaty’s signatories violate the agreement.