Putin Orders Submission of Proposals for Nuclear Test Preparations

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, intelligence services, and relevant civil agencies to submit proposals on preparing nuclear weapons tests.

"I instruct the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the special services, and the relevant civil agencies to gather and analyze additional information on this issue at the Security Council and submit agreed proposals on the potential start of preparations for nuclear weapons tests," the head of state said, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

"Let's proceed on this basis. I await your report," he concluded.

At the meeting, which was supposed to focus on transport security and the results of the government delegation's visit to China, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin requested the opportunity "to speak off the record. He pointed to US President Donald Trump's statements about resuming nuclear weapons testing and mentioned that lawmakers were worried about the situation.

Putin called this a serious issue and asked Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff Chief Army General Valery Gerasimov, Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov to comment.

Belousov, in particular, pointed to Washington's active build-up of strategic offensive weapons. According to him, Russia must therefore maintain its nuclear potential in order to respond adequately. With this in mind, the minister said it was advisable to "immediately begin preparations for full-scale nuclear tests."