ALBAWABA - Russia said on Saturday that it has started working on President Vladimir Putin's order to look into the possibility of a new nuclear test. This comes at a time when tensions are rising between Russia and the US over nuclear policy.
Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, told state media that Russian agencies are already working on proposals based on Putin's order from last week. Lavrov also said that Washington has not yet explained to Moscow what President Donald Trump meant when he told the U.S. military to get ready to start nuclear testing again.
In a different interview, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the UN, said that Russia needs to be ready if the US decides to start nuclear tests again for the first time since the early 1990s.
Nebenzya called Trump's comments "very serious" and said that the effects are still not clear. Trump made the comments in response to Russia testing new cruise missiles and nuclear-powered submarines.
He remembered that Putin had said at a recent meeting of Russia's Security Council that these U.S. statements should be taken very seriously. Nebenzya said, "We need to be ready for this if nuclear testing starts up again."
Worries about things getting worse and a new arms race
Nebenzya said that even talking about new nuclear tests has made people around the world and in the U.S. worried. He pointed out that this could lead to a new cycle of escalation, a new arms race, and unpredictable effects around the world. He stressed that Putin had "made everything clear" about Russia's position and readiness.
Russia sees Novaya Zemlya as a testing ground
Trump had already said that the U.S. would do nuclear tests "on equal terms" with other countries that were said to be working on similar programs.
Andrei Belousov, Russia's defense minister, said at a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday that preparations could start for testing at the Novaya Zemlya nuclear test range if Putin gives the go-ahead.
Putin told officials to gather all the necessary information, do a thorough analysis, and make detailed suggestions on whether Russia should start testing nuclear weapons again, which would go against decades of global restraint.
