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Russia says that it will not resume testing unless Washington
does and that its de-ratification does not change its nuclear
posture or the way it shares information about its nuclear
activities.
Washington had signed but never ratified the 1996 treaty and
Putin had said he wanted Russia, which had signed and ratified
the pact, to adopt the same stance on the treaty as the United
States.
Some Western arms control experts are concerned that Russia may
be inching towards a test to intimidate and evoke fear amid the
Ukraine war, an idea Russian officials have played down.
Putin said on Oct. 5 that he was not ready to say whether or not
Russia should resume nuclear testing after calls from some
Russian security experts and lawmakers to test a nuclear bomb as
a warning to the West.
Such a move, if it did happen, could usher in a new era of big
power nuclear testing, Western experts fear.
Putin's approval of the de-ratification law was posted on a
government website which said the decision took immediate
effect.
Both houses of Russia's parliament have already approved the
step.
Post-Soviet Russia has never carried out a nuclear test. The
Soviet Union last tested in 1990 and the United States in 1992.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Guy
Faulconbridge)
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