The United States will conduct nuclear tests very soon, President Donald Trump said, while advocating for denuclearization talks with Russia and China.
“Very soon“, he told reporters when asked about the nuclear tests.
Trump pointed to the fact that “other people“ are also testing nuclear weapons. However, he declined to specify whether he meant actual tests with nuclear warheads.
At the same time, Trump called denuclearization the best solution for arms control. He expressed hope for a meeting on this issue with Russia and China.
“What I would like to do is denuclearize, in other words, have a meeting, first of all, with the three major powers, to reduce nuclear weapons.“
On October 30, the US president announced that he had ordered the start of nuclear tests “on an equal footing“ with other countries that are said to have nuclear weapons programs. On his social media account TruthSocial, Trump added that this process would begin immediately.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that Moscow would react if any nuclear power took such a step. Last week, at a meeting of the Security Council, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov proposed preparing for the resumption of nuclear tests at the Novaya Zemlya test site.
As Belousov reported, in October the United States conducted an exercise that practiced a preemptive nuclear missile strike against Russia. In addition, the United States planned to deploy missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with a flight time of six to seven minutes from Germany to central Russia.
Vladimir Putin ordered the collection of additional information, analysis and the submission of coordinated proposals on the possible start of preparations for such tests. He noted that Russia does not intend to withdraw from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but will be forced to take "appropriate actions" if any of the signatories to the treaty decides to violate it.