Russia might pull back from nuclear test treaty

Source: This post has been created based on the article “Russia might pull back from nuclear test treaty” published in the The Hindu on 7^th October 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 International Relations — Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

News: The article discusses the concerns regarding escalating tensions between Russia and USA. It might result in Russia possibly revoking the global nuclear test ban treaty and conducting nuclear tests.

Russian lawmakers are considering repealing the ratification of a global nuclear test ban (or the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty), as told by Speaker of the Russian Parliament. A similar statement was made earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

What is the justification behind Russia’s possible exit from NTBT?

The United States has never ratified the treaty (signed but not ratified), while Russia ratified it in 2000.

Moscow’s claim that Western military support for Ukraine means the U.S. and its allies are engaged in the conflict directly.

What are the concerns?

There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine.