Russia accuses US of plans to conduct nuclear tests

Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of carrying out preparations at its nuclear test site in Nevada, saying that Moscow would not restart its own nuclear testing program unless Washington did.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov made the charge as Russia's lower house of parliament was urgently studying how to revoke Moscow's ratification of a landmark treaty banning nuclear tests, as tensions with the West are at their highest level since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

"The indications are that there is or was, at least until recently, preparatory work underway at the Nevada Test Site," Ryabkov was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

"If they go down this testing path, then the position that was stated by the president of the Russian Federation will be triggered — that we will be forced to mirror this as well. This is when a completely different situation arises, but the responsibility for whether it will or won't arise lies with Washington."

A US State Department spokesperson rejected Ryabkov's allegation, calling it "a disturbing effort by Moscow to heighten nuclear risks "and raise tensions in the context of its special military operation in Ukraine.

The spokesperson reiterated that the US has no plans to abandon a 1992 moratorium on nuclear test blasts in line with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or CTBT, which Washington has signed but not ratified.

However, Washington is preparing to conduct two so-called subcritical experiments involving fissile materials in amounts too small to ignite a nuclear explosion next year at the Nevada Test Site, Reuters reported.

Such experiments, which have been periodically held at the site, are designed to identify potential problems in warheads.

Jill Hruby, head of the US National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the US' nuclear arsenal, announced in June that the US is open to having international observers monitor the subcritical experiments.

In a separate development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Palestine showed the failure of US policy in the Middle East.

"I think that many people will agree with me that this is a vivid example of the failure of United States policy in the Middle East," Putin said when meeting with the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.

He said the US had sought to "monopolize" international efforts at forging peace, and accused Washington of neglecting to seek compromises that would be acceptable to both sides.

The US had ignored the interests of Palestinians, including their need for their own independent Palestinian state, Putin said.

The Kremlin said it was in touch with both of the warring sides. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would seek to play a role in resolving the conflict, but did not specify how.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn