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THE lower house of the Russian parliament today gave preliminary approval to a Bill revoking the ratification of a global nuclear test ban.
Moscow says the move puts the country on a par with the United States, which has never formally ratified the treaty.
The State Duma voted unanimously to rescind the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty known (CTBT) in the first of three required readings.
The final vote is scheduled for later this week.
The vote follows a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who warned earlier this month that Moscow could revoke its 2000 decision to ratify the Bill to “mirror” the stand taken by the United States, which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.
Speaking during Tuesday’s session, Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the step was a response to what he described as the Washington’s “boorish attitude to performing its obligations to ensure global security.”
Mr Volodin added: “They thought about themselves as hegemons, proponents of a unilateral world.
“Today’s decision will ring the bell for them.”
The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear detonations anywhere in the world, but has also not been ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.
