Russian parliament bosses to discuss revoking ratification of nuclear test ban treaty. President Vladimir Putin hinted that Russia would begin nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades, prompting the Russian legislative leadership to debate rescinding ratification of a treaty prohibiting such tests on Monday.

The global nations who suspended nuclear testing in the years following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 might enter a new nuclear arms race if Russia, the United States, or China resume nuclear testing.

Putin stated on Thursday that Russia’s nuclear policy, which outlines the circumstances under which he would use nuclear weapons, was up to date and did not require amending. Still, he was not yet prepared to declare whether Moscow should begin conducting nuclear tests.

The head of the Kremlin said that since the United States had signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) but not ratified it, Russia may consider rescinding its ratification.

That led Vyacheslav Volodin, the senior legislator in Russia, to announce that he would debate the issue at the upcoming meeting of the Duma Council, the major body responsible for organizing the legislative work of the Russian parliament. It will convene on Monday at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT).

Russia’s representative to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said on Friday that Moscow will withdraw its endorsement of the agreement. Washington criticized this decision as threatening “the global norm” against nuclear test explosions.

During the Cold War, there were several nuclear bomb tests, which some scientists and activists felt brought to light the foolishness of nuclear brinksmanship that may ultimately lead to the extinction of humanity and the contamination of the earth for tens of thousands of years.

TESTING OF NUCLEAR

However, the conflict in Ukraine has increased tension between Moscow and Washington to its greatest level since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962; at the same time, China is trying to increase the size of its nuclear weapons to match its reputation as a rising superpower.

By rescinding the ratification, Russia is telling the U.S. that it can radically alter nuclear planning assumptions made after the Cold War. The CTBT, signed by 187 nations and ratified by 178 others, cannot go into effect until eight particular holdouts have signed and ratified it.

It has been signed but not ratified by the United States, China, Egypt, Iran, and Israel. North Korea, Pakistan, and India have not signed. The U.S. and Soviet Union last conducted nuclear tests in 1992 and 1990, respectively. Russia has never used its nuclear weapons, which it received in large part from the Soviet Union. But there are indications that testing could pick back up.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that satellite photographs revealed increasing activity at nuclear test sites in China, Russia, and the United States. According to the Washington Post, the then-Trump administration allegedly contemplated conducting nuclear tests in 2020.

Since the CTBT, there have been ten nuclear tests. The United Nations reports that North Korea conducted tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice), and 2017, while India and Pakistan each conducted two in 1998.