Russia mulls over resumption of nuclear tests

KABUL (Pajhwok): Russia says it is mulling over resuming nuclear tests, accusing the United States of pursuing escalatory policies.

The warning came from Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Saturday in an interview with state-run TASS news agency.

He said: “I don’t want to portend anything but will simply say that the situation is quite complicated. It is under constant review in all its aspects.”

Earlier, Russia blamed the UK for supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles, saying the move could stoke tensions between Moscow and London.

Russian Ambassador in London Andrey Kelin was quoted as saying: “It has been reported that another batch of Storm Shadows was delivered [to Ukraine] several weeks ago.”

Speaking to the Rossiya-24 TV channel, he said there have been no clear statements the UK had allowed Kiev to use these missiles against Russia, but Ukraine had already fired them into the Kursk Region.

Russia viewed such steps as the confirmation of London’s involvement in the armed conflict alongside Ukraine, the diplomat commented.

PAN Monitor/mud