President Putin Signs Russia's Ratification Withdrawal Law Against Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Illustration of Russian ballistic missiles. (Wikimedia Commons/Dmitry Terekhov)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on the withdrawal of Russian ratification from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on Thursday.

The agreement was signed on behalf of Russia on September 24, 1996, in New York and ratified by Russia on May 27, 2000. The document is supposed to be the main international legal instrument to stop all types of nuclear tests.

However, until now, the agreement has not been in effect because it has not been ratified by 8 of the 44 countries that have nuclear weapons or have the potential to create them.

According to documents published on the official legal portal, the law adopted was designed to restore balance in its nuclear arms control commitment, TASS reported November 2.

It said the document provided a legal basis for Russia to withdraw its ratification instruments, but not the withdrawal of the country from CTBT. That applies on the day of its official publication.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ratification withdrawal would align Russia's position with the United States, which signed the CTBT Agreement but did not ratify it.

"They (contact with Washington) are not needed," Peskov said, when asked if President Vladimir Putin would contact the United States, before making the final decision on the signing of the law regarding Russia's revocation of CTBT ratification into law.

Peskov also emphasized that the withdrawal of CTBT ratification does not mean Russia plans to conduct a nuclear test.

As a multilateral document, the CTBT Agreement is intended to be the main instrument of international law to stop all types of nuclear tests.

However, until now, the agreement has not been in effect because it has not been ratified by eight of the 44 countries that have nuclear weapons or have the potential to have them. Apart from the United States, countries that have not ratified are China, Egypt, Israel, Iran, India, North Korea and Pakistan.

Russia signed the agreement in New York on September 24, 1996, before ratifying it on May 27, 2000.

Meanwhile, Robert Floyd, chairman of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Organization, tasked with promoting recognition of the agreement, regretted Russia's move.

"Today's decision by the Russian Federation to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Agreement is disappointing and deeply regrettable," tweeted Floyd, who has tried lobbying senior Russian officials for them to change their minds on X.

It is known that Russia after Soviet has not conducted a nuclear test. The Soviet Union last conducted trials in 1990 and the United States in 1992.