WASHINGTON, October 30. /TASS/. The US resuming nuclear testing would threaten to undermine the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Professor Peter Kuznick, Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University in Washington, told TASS.

Commenting on US President Donald Trump's order to resume nuclear testing, the expert said: "Trump's impulsive and ignorant statement about resuming nuclear testing was truly terrifying. Not because it would blow up the CTBT, which the US has never ratified but, like Russia and China, continues to adhere to but because it reflected how little understanding Trump has about nuclear weapons and their use and because it shows how recklessly impetuous Trump is."

According to Kuznick, "the reality is that the US is nowhere near ready to begin underground nuclear testing." "It would probably take the US three years to get ready to test," the expert predicted. "And the US, with its stockpile stewardship program, has no need for such testing, which would only trigger similar moves by Russia and China and others, who actually would benefit from such testing far more than the US would," he pointed out.

Trump did not explain what tests he was referring to, including whether he meant nuclear warhead detonations. The US nuclear test site is located in the state of Nevada. The White House, the US State Department, and the Pentagon did not respond to TASS' request for clarification or additional comments on Trump's decision.

Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Moscow "will act according to the situation" if the US abandons the moratorium on nuclear testing.