Russia's parliament completed the passage of a law on Wednesday, October 25th, withdrawing ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), indicating the strained relations with the United States as Moscow continues its military campaign in Ukraine. The move comes as Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that Russia would not engage in discussions on nuclear issues with the U.S. until Washington dropped its "hostile" policy.

The upper house of the Russian parliament unanimously approved the bill to deratify the CTBT, with 156 votes in favor and none against. This decision follows the unanimous passage of the bill in the lower house. The bill will now be forwarded to President Vladimir Putin for signing.

Putin's request to align Russia's position with that of the United States, which signed the CTBT in 1996 but never ratified it, was the impetus behind this change. Despite the treaty never formally coming into force, it has created a global taboo against nuclear testing, with only North Korea conducting a nuclear explosion test in this century.

Russia has stated that it will not resume testing unless the United States does so as well. However, experts in arms control warn that a test by either Russia or the United States could potentially spark a new arms race, leading to further testing by other countries. This scenario becomes even more alarming amidst the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Recent satellite images published by CNN show that Russia, the United States, and China have all expanded their nuclear test sites in recent years. Last week, the U.S. Energy Department conducted a chemical explosion at its Nevada test site with the aim of enhancing the detection of low-yield nuclear explosions globally. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov referred to this explosion as a "political signal."

Ryabkov addressed Russian lawmakers, emphasizing that if the United States were to resume nuclear tests, Russia would respond in a similar manner. While Russia will continue supplying data from its monitoring stations to the global network that detects nuclear blasts, Ryabkov made it clear that Russia is not prepared to resume talks on nuclear issues with the U.S. due to what they perceive as a "deeply fundamental hostile course" taken by Washington.

The absence of nuclear dialogue has raised doubts about the fate of the New START treaty, which places limits on the number of strategic warheads that Russia and the United States can deploy. Russia suspended the treaty earlier this year, and it is set to expire in 2026, leaving both countries without any remaining bilateral nuclear weapons agreement.

Ryabkov acknowledged that Moscow received an unofficial memo from Washington on arms control and is currently reviewing its contents. However, he stated that the memo did not contain any new elements. It remains to be seen whether this memo will pave the way for future discussions on strategic stability and arms control between the two countries.

The passing of this law further underscores the escalation in tensions between Russia and the United States, with the issue of nuclear weapons becoming a crucial point of contention. As the fate of arms control agreements remains uncertain, the international community observes closely, concerned about the potential consequences of a breakdown in nuclear dialogue.