The Kremlin said on Wednesday that neither Russia nor China has conducted secret nuclear weapon tests, rejecting recent foreign allegations, Reuters reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the statement in response to claims that Beijing had conducted undisclosed nuclear explosive tests, emphasising that both Moscow and Beijing deny such activities.
The remarks come amid a wider dispute over nuclear testing and arms control. Last week, U.S. officials alleged that China may have carried out a covert underground nuclear test in June 2020, citing seismic data as evidence, an accusation Beijing has strongly denied as baseless and politically motivated. Western concern over alleged Chinese testing has resurfaced as global arms control frameworks, including the New START treaty, have lapsed and calls grow for new agreements to include China alongside Russia and the United States.
Moscow’s denial also reflects its stance that no clandestine nuclear explosive tests have been conducted by Russia or China, underscoring both countries’ commitments to avoid breaches of long‑standing moratoria on such tests. Russia and China have maintained that they respect the spirit of global norms against nuclear explosive testing even as formal arms‑control talks remain stalled.
The issue of nuclear testing has become an increasingly contentious facet of great‑power tensions, with the United States exploring possible new nuclear arms control treaties that would include Beijing and Moscow. The Kremlin’s statement aims to pre‑empt claims by Western critics that either state has secretly restarted nuclear explosive tests, which would risk destabilising long‑standing global norms against nuclear testing and fuel geopolitical friction.
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