Putin orders preparations for possible nuclear tests after Trump's statements

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his officials to prepare proposals for possible nuclear weapons testing after US President Donald Trump said last week that the US would resume nuclear tests.

Putin stressed that Russia strictly adheres to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but if the United States or another nuclear power were to test, Russia would respond in the same way.

Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that recent U.S. statements and actions indicate that it is "appropriate to immediately prepare for full-scale nuclear tests." He identified the Arctic test site of Novaya Zemlya as a possible location, ready for rapid deployment.

Putin instructed the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defence and the security services to gather additional information and prepare proposals for the possible start of test preparations.

The US last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Russia, as its successor, has never conducted such tests.

(reuters, lud)