Putin orders plans to resume nuclear tests following Trump’s remarks
Russia's President Vladimir Putin instructed top officials on Wednesday to prepare plans for the potential resumption of nuclear testing, in direct response to President Donald Trump's unexpected directive for the United States to begin testing nuclear weapons for the first time in over 30 years.
In a televised meeting with his Security Council in Moscow, Putin said that he had warned the U.S. and others that if they "conduct such tests, Russia would also be required to take appropriate retaliatory measures," News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
He told the foreign and defense ministries "to do everything possible to gather additional information on this matter, analyze it in the Security Council, and submit coordinated proposals on the possible commencement of preparations for nuclear weapons testing.”
Several of Putin's top officials backed the need for resumed tests.
“We must respond appropriately to Washington’s actions,” Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said, urging his government “to begin preparations for full-scale nuclear testing immediately.”
Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia's chief of the general staff, added, "If we do not take appropriate measures now, we will miss the opportunity to respond promptly to the United States' actions, since preparation for nuclear tests, depending on their type, takes several months to several years."
Russian Ambassador in Washington Alexander Darchiev had sent a telegram to U.S. officials "to clarify these controversial statements by U.S. President Donald Trump," Sergey Naryshkin, chief of Russia's foreign intelligence service, told the council.
But "representatives from both the White House and the U.S. State Department declined to comment," he added, "stating that they would report the information to their superiors and contact the Russian side if it will be deemed necessary to provide clarification."
The Security Council meeting was supposed to focus on transport security. However, Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin asked members to first comment on Washington's announcement of renewed nuclear tests.
NBC News has contacted the Pentagon and State Department for comment.
The move comes after Trump announced last week that he had instructed the Defense Department to “immediately” start testing nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with other nations.
The U.S. has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992, China and France last did so in 1996 and the Soviet Union in 1990.
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