WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2019) The claims by the United States that Russia illegally conducts nuclear testing lack evidence, the Arms Control Association said in a press release.
US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley said earlier Wednesday the United States believes Russia may not be adhering to the nuclear testing moratorium outlined in the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
"But no public evidence has ever been provided to support the claim of illegal Russian testing and Gen. Ashley didn't provide any Wednesday," the Arms Control Association said on Wednesday. "Gen. Ashley also claimed that Russia has 'not affirmed the language of zero-yield.' But Russia has repeatedly affirmed publicly that they believe the treaty prohibits all nuclear test explosions."
The association noted, for example, that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov emphasized in a 2017 op-ed that the treaty bans "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion, anywhere on Earth, whatever the yield."
The best way for Washington to enforce adherence to the zero-yield standard would be for President Donald Trump and the US Senate to support ratifying the treaty to help bring it into force, the association added.
Such a move would pave the way for "intrusive, short-notice, on-site inspections to detect and deter any possible cheating," the release said.
The United States should propose confidence-building visits to test sites as allowed for by the treaty if it indeed has any "credible evidence" of Russia violating the treaty, it added.
US Senator Ed Markey in a press release called on the Trump administration to immediately and in detail hand over evidence of Russian nuclear activities to support Ashley's allegations.
"This claim is not new among those who oppose a test ban, and preparations for the two kinds of tests are very similar," Markey said.
Markey warned against being pushed into "shortsighted moves" in response like resuming nuclear testing.
