experts say<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe U.S. State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether Solomon was referring to low-yield supercritical nuclear tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US says Russia and China are testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
China and Russia, which have signed but not ratified the treaty, say they adhere to a nuclear testing moratorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But since 2019, the U.S. State Department has publicly expressed concerns about China and Russia not adhering to their zero-yield testing moratoria. Annual reports on compliance with arms control agreements to the U.S. Congress cite possible activities at the Lop Nur nuclear testing site in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China and Russia\u2019s Novaya Zemlya site, a remote Arctic archipelago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview for \u201c60 Minutes\u201d that aired Nov. 2 on CBS News, Trump said, \u201cRussia\u2019s testing, and China\u2019s testing, but they don\u2019t talk about it. You know, we\u2019re a open society. We\u2019re different. We talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t go and tell you about it,\u201d Trump continued. \u201cYou know, as powerful as they are, this is a big world. You don\u2019t necessarily know where they\u2019re testing. They \u2014 they test way under \u2014 underground where people don\u2019t know exactly what\u2019s happening with the test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A White House official, asked for comment on whether Trump was referring to low-yield supercritical nuclear tests conducted underground, said the president had directed tests be done \u201con an equal basis\u201d to other countries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the testing plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other countries have accelerated their testing programs and Trump wants to act accordingly, the official said without providing further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia denies testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Solomon\u2019s comments in Vienna came in response to Russia\u2019s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations, Mikhail Ulyanov, at a closed-door meeting of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO, an international body based in Vienna that monitors compliance with the nuclear test ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe resumption of nuclear testing could cause significant damage to the nuclear non-proliferation regime and international security,\u201d Ulyanov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe consider it fundamentally important that the U.S. side provide a clear and detailed explanation of its position on the resumption of nuclear testing,\u201d he added. \u201cWe expect the U.S. to respond appropriately and without further delay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ulyanov also rejected the \u201ccompletely unacceptable and unsubstantiated allegations\u201d that Russia is conducting nuclear tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are false accusations. We consider such escalatory rhetoric unacceptable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Limited nuclear use remains a risk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Solomon refuted Ulyanov\u2019s comments, saying it is \u201csurprising to hear such statements coming from a state that has not adhered to the zero-yield nuclear test moratorium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solomon then cited additional U.S. concerns, including Russia\u2019s \u201congoing violations\u201d of New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington, Russia\u2019s \u201cdisproportionately large\u201d stockpile of non-strategic nuclear weapons and Russian nuclear doctrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The weapons referred to by Solomon generally have a lower explosive power than strategic nuclear weapons and are designed for use on the battlefield. They can still cause immense destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite being physically smaller, experts consider nonstrategic nuclear weapons dangerous because the threshold for use is considered lower. The weapons are not covered by arms control treaties, making development easier for Russia and other states without oversight or limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nuclear Notebook, a renowned annual report published by the Federation of American Scientists in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, highlighted this point in this year\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf particular concern is the role that nonstrategic nuclear weapons play because it may be this category of nuclear weapon that would be used first in a potential military escalation with NATO,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia has between 1,000 and 2,000 nonstrategic nuclear warheads as of the latest unclassified assessment in 2023, according to the U.S. State Department, far more than the approximately 200 such weapons the U.S. maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nuclear arms control is on the ropes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By contrast, strategic nuclear weapons are even more powerful and are designed to be used deep inside an enemy\u2019s territory, far away from the actual battlefield where friendly forces may be located and risk being killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. and Russia have a comparable total number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons, with 1,718 for Moscow and 1,770 for Washington, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These weapons are capped by New START<\/a>, formally known as the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by the Obama administration in 2010 and took effect in February 2011 as a 10-year agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRussia suspended its participation in New START in 2023 but did not withdraw from the treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin in September declared Moscow\u2019s readiness to adhere to the treaty\u2019s limits for one more year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump said in October it sounded \u201clike a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without the treaty, which will expire Feb. 5, the U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals would be unconstrained for the first time in decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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