TOKYO, May 31. /TASS/: The United States’ allegations that Russia is conducting nuclear tests are just absurd speculations that the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization has proved as baseless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on Friday.
"As for allegations about Russia conducting nuclear threats, representatives of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and credible US experts have already proved these speculations as absurd," he pointed out.
Speaking at the Hudson Institute in Washington, on Wednesday, Director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency Robert Ashley said that "Russia probably is not adhering to the nuclear testing moratorium in a manner consistent with the zero-yield standard." However, he tried to avoid giving a straightforward answer when asked to clarify whether the US believed that Russia was actually conducting such tests. He just noted that, in his view, Russia has "the capability to do that."
The nuclear testing moratorium has been in effect in Russia for almost three decades. The last such test was conducted at the Novaya Zemlya test site on October 24, 1990.
