Russia’s lower house of parliament, the state duma, has announced that it will vote on withdrawing Moscow’s ratification of the global treaty that bans nuclear tests. The duma plans to hold a first reading on the bill next week, followed by its expected completion two days later. The head of the parliament’s international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, stated that all 450 members of the duma would sponsor the motion.
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The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178, was opened for signature in 1996. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently suggested that the duma should consider withdrawing Russia’s ratification to “mirror” the United States’ position. Although Putin did not explicitly endorse resuming nuclear tests, he did not rule it out either.
