Russia moves closer to ditching landmark nuclear treaty

SpaceWar.com reports: “Russian lawmakers on Wednesday voted once more to revoke Moscow’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, moving the country another step closer to abandoning the landmark agreement.

The 1996 treaty outlaws all nuclear explosions including live tests of nuclear weapons, but it has never come into force because some key countries — including the United States and China — have not ratified the treaty.

In a fast-track hearing in the State Duma Wednesday, lawmakers voted unanimously to revoke Russia’s ratification of the treaty in a combined second and third reading of the bill.

The initiative will next be voted on by Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, before being sent to President Vladimir Putin to sign into law.

Putin said earlier this month he was ‘not ready to say’ whether Russia needed to carry out live nuclear tests…”

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