Putin seeks proposals on N-tests resumption

MOSCOW:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered top officials to draft proposals for a possible nuclear weapons test, responding to President Donald Trump"s announcement last week that the United States would resume testing.

"I am instructing the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests," Putin said in televised remarks.

The order — Moscow's first such move since the 1991 Soviet collapse — underscores the rapid escalation between the two nuclear powers.

Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told Putin that US actions made it "advisable to prepare for full-scale nuclear tests immediately," saying the Novaya Zemlya site could be ready on short notice. General Valery Gerasimov, head of the General Staff, added that delay could cost Russia "time and opportunities for a timely response."