Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in a Nov. 22 interview with International Affairs magazine, said Russia has still not received a response about U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments about resuming U.S. nuclear testing. “We tried to obtain official explanations from the U.S. side as to what these tests entail. Are they tests of delivery systems for critical tests, i.e., tests with no chain reaction, or are they actual nuclear explosions for testing purposes? We have not received a response in this regard,” Ryabkov said, reported TASS.
He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “said everything he needed to say on this subject.” Following Trump’s statements on the matter, Russian President Putin in early November ordered Russian officials to collect information and make proposals on the possible resumption of nuclear weapons testing. “As you all saw, the president issued instructions,” Ryabkov continued. “Naturally, we have accepted them for implementation. I am confident that in Washington, and indeed in other capitals, all of this has been documented in minute detail.”
“The Foreign Ministry, together with other agencies, is ensuring the directive’s implementation, specifically by gathering and analyzing information on whether it would be advisable to start preparing the infrastructure for any potential testing. We have not reached that stage yet. At this point, we are carrying out the presidential directive exactly as it was received,” the deputy foreign minister concluded.
