PUTIN ORDERS ‘POSSIBLE FIRST STEPS’ FOR NUKE TESTS: At a meeting of his security council at the Kremlin on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin quizzed his ministers about what to make of President Donald Trump’s recent pronouncement that the U.S. would resume testing of nuclear weapons after a three-decade moratorium.
“I would like to note that Russia has always strictly adhered to its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and we do not plan to abandon these obligations,” Putin said, according to the official Kremlin transcript of the meeting. “At the same time, indeed, in my 2023 Address to the Federal Assembly, I said that if the United States or any other state party to the Treaty was to conduct such tests, Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures.”
Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said Russian analysts have scrutinized the public statements of Trump, Vice President JD Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and they still can’t figure out what the U.S. actually plans to do. “We analyzed these statements, but we are not entirely clear about the United States’ future plans and steps regarding nuclear weapons testing.”