Russian State Duma passes bill to withdraw ratification of Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in first reading

The Russian State Duma has passed in first reading a bill to withdraw the country’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Russia’s drift towards recalling its ratification of the 1996 treaty, which had never been ratified either by the U.S. or China, was voiced by President Vladimir Putin at the October 5 meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, where he also spoke about Russia’s testing of the nuclear-powered cruise missile Burevestnik.

The day after Putin’s remarks, the speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said that the lower chamber would discuss the matter in the near future. Volodin has since announced that the initiative had received support from all factions of the Russian parliament.

Head of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky says that Russia “will continue adhering to its obligations under the treaty and to the nuclear test ban,” even if ratification is ultimately withdrawn.

In February 2023, the Russian president said that the U.S. was planning to test new types of nuclear weapons, and that Russia was intent on doing the same.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was adopted in 1996 by the U.N. General Assembly. Russia ratified the document, but the U.S. and China did not. The last time Russia and the U.S. conducted nuclear tests was in 1990 and 1992, respectively.