Moscow, Sep 24 (IANS): Russia will refrain from conducting nuclear tests as long as the United States does the same, local media reported quoting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Ryabkov noted that while Moscow can conduct nuclear tests, it will refrain from doing so as stated earlier by the Russian president, provided that Washington will do the same, reports Xinhua, quoting Russian news agency TASS.

"I would like to draw attention to recent media reports indicating that the infrastructure of the test site on Novaya Zemlya is fully prepared," Ryabkov said on Monday.

He stressed that "this was also done in response to Washington's actions, which over the past few years has been focused on improving the infrastructure that they have in this field."

The testing facility, located at the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in northern Russia, is currently ready to resume full-scale testing activities, the head of the nuclear site Andrei Sinitsyn said in a recent interview for local Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

He noted that if an order is received, testing could be resumed at any moment.

In November 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law withdrawing Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The CTBT is a multilateral agreement that bans all nuclear explosion tests conducted for peaceful or military purposes. The treaty was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, signed by 187 nations, and ratified by 178 as of September 2024.