Russia will respond in kind if the United States conducts nuclear tests, said the Deputy Foreign Minister.

Russia will respond in kind if the United States resumes nuclear testing, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Alexeyevich Ryabkov said on Monday.

Ryabkov also noted that the United States has not yet responded to Russia's initiative to continue complying with key limits under the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) even after its expiry.

At a Security Council meeting in late September, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin stated that if the United States refrains from taking steps that would disrupt the existing strategic balance, Russia will continue to comply with the treaty's basic limits for one year after its expiry.

The New START treaty, signed by Russia and the United States in 2010, sets limits on the number of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery vehicles. It remains the only valid nuclear arms control agreement between the two nuclear superpowers. Moscow and Washington agreed in February 2021 to extend it for five years.

US President Donald John Trump has previously stated that the United States will conduct nuclear weapons tests like other countries, but he declined to specify whether these plans include detonating nuclear warheads.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov said at a regular press briefing that Russia is evaluating the relevant statements and intentions of US Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio regarding President Trump's plan to verify the safety of nuclear weapons through nuclear tests. If the United States conducts nuclear tests, Russia will be forced to take appropriate measures.

CMG