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Russia not discussing Pentagon’s nuclear test allegations with Washington — ambassador

According to Antonov, DIA’s claims cause concern about possible motives behind the start of this anti-Russian campaign
Russia's US ambassador, Anatoly Antonov Alexander Shcherbak/TASS
Russia's US ambassador, Anatoly Antonov
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

WASHINGTON, July 6. /TASS/. Moscow is not discussing with Washington allegations of carrying out above the "zero yield" nuclear tests earlier made by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, told TASS on Friday.

"Russia is not discussing with the United States speculations by the Defense Intelligence Agency about the possible above the 'zero yield' nuclear tests. Our stance has been made clear to Washington - we view baseless accusations as unacceptable and resolutely reject them," he said.

According to Antonov, DIA’s claims cause concern about possible motives behind the start of this anti-Russian campaign.

"The situation is very similar to the scenario regarding the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty. At first, there were statements of the need to possess the potential, prohibited by the treaty, [they were] followed by a search for those ‘guilty,’ and, as a result, the treaty was terminated. Can those actions by the US military intelligence be a part of the US smokescreen plan to withdraw its signature from the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban) Treaty and to resume its own full-scale nuclear tests?" the ambassador said.

The Defense Intelligence Agency’s statement claimed that Russia has carried out nuclear tests, which caused nuclear explosions. This document was prepared to elaborate the statement made by Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Robert Ashley, who said on May 29 that "the United States believes Russia is probably not adhering to the nuclear testing moratorium in a manner consistent with the zero-yield standard."

Russia has strongly rejected Ashley’s statement. On May 29, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told TASS that Russia observes the moratorium for nuclear tests. On May 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the claims as nonsense.

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO Preparatory Commission) told TASS earlier that its specialists did not register any unusual events in Russia, and nuclear test monitoring systems operate in a regular mode.

Moratorium on nuclear tests has been enforced in Russia for almost 30 years. The last such test was conducted at the Novaya Zemlya test site on October 24, 1990. Russia was one of the first countries to ratify the CTBT in 2000 and it strictly abides by its spirit and letter.