MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Friday that it wanted the United States to clarify recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about the possible resumption of nuclear testing, given that such a step would trigger serious responses from other countries. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the comments at a news briefing in Moscow. […]
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Russia says it wants the US to clarify its nuclear testing intentions after Trump remarks
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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Friday that it wanted the United States to clarify recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about the possible resumption of nuclear testing, given that such a step would trigger serious responses from other countries.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the comments at a news briefing in Moscow.
Trump last week ordered the U.S. military to immediately restart the process for testing nuclear weapons after a halt of 33 years. But it was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to nuclear-explosive testing, which would be carried out by the National Nuclear Security Administration, or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles.
Given the lack of clarity around U.S. plans, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday instructed top officials to prepare proposals for Russia to carry out its own potential nuclear test in response to any U.S. test.
Moscow has not carried out a nuclear test since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia and the U.S. possess the world’s largest nuclear arsenals.
(Reporting by Dmitry AntonovWriting by Maxim RodionovEditing by Andrew Osborn)