Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons at a level comparable to that of China and Russia, The Guardian reports.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that “due to the testing programs of other countries, I have directed the Pentagon to begin testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.”
“This process will begin immediately,” the U.S. president said.
The announcement was published less than an hour before Trump was scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, in an effort to reach a truce in the trade war.
The meeting is the first between the two leaders since 2019.
The United States last conducted a full-scale nuclear weapons test in 1992, and it is not known whether China or Russia have held such tests since that period. Trump’s mention of “on an equal basis” left unclear what kind of weapons testing might take place, or whether he referred to demonstrations of power similar to those recently carried out by Russia, The Guardian writes.
Reaction from Moscow
The Kremlin does not believe that a new round of the arms race between Russia and the United States has begun, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Not yet,” Peskov told reporters when asked whether Trump’s statements about starting nuclear weapons testing could be considered the beginning of a new arms race.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced yesterday that Russia tested the underwater vehicle “Poseidon” on Tuesday.
He also announced on October 26 that testing of the “Burevestnik” missile had been completed.
The treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater was signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963, by representatives of the USSR, the USA, and the United Kingdom.
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