HIROSHIMA /Japan/, May 19. /TASS/. The Group of Seven countries are concerned over Russia’s statement on its readiness to conduct nuclear tests and call on all countries to adhere to the moratorium on such tests," according to the G7 leaders’ statement adopted by the their summit on Friday.
"We remain committed to upholding the global norm against nuclear explosive testing until it is legally binding and call on all states to declare new or maintain existing moratoriums on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions," the statement reads. "We express our concern over Russia’s announcement of its readiness to conduct a nuclear test, and we call for Russia’s adherence to its moratorium on nuclear tests."
The G7 leaders called on all nuclear powers to follow the suit of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France and provide data on their nuclear forces and the objective size of their nuclear arsenals. They also called on all states "to declare and maintain voluntary moratoria on the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices."
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin tasked the defense ministry and Rosatom, a state nuclear corporation, to get prepared for resuming nuclear tests if necessary. He stressed however that Russia would not be the first to do conduct such tests but would do that id the United States staged nuclear tests.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said back then that this statement "in no way changes Russia’s position on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty." Russia, in his words, "has always been committed to its liabilities" under the treaty. He explained that although a possibility of the resumption of nuclear tests is committed to paper in a federal law, Moscow is not going to abandon its voluntary test moratorium.