By Ireti Asemota.
Russia has extended an olive branch to the United States, offering talks to address Washington’s claims of secret underground nuclear tests, amid escalating rhetoric between the nuclear giants. 🇷🇺🇺🇸⚛️
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a televised interview on Tuesday, stated: “We are ready to discuss the suspicions raised by our American colleagues regarding the possibility that we might be secretly doing something deep underground.” He invited the US to verify compliance via the global seismic monitoring network, emphasizing that subcritical tests (without chain reactions) and delivery system drills are permitted and not banned.
Moscow firmly denies detonating any nuclear device, insisting recent activities involved only nuclear-powered/nuclear-capable systems—like missile tests—and no warhead explosions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted no specific evidence has been shared by Washington: “So far, no explanations have been provided.”
The spat stems from President Donald Trump’s CBS interview earlier this month, where he accused both Russia and China of covert nuclear tests, prompting him to order US atomic weapons testing in response—a move that alarmed global watchers. (Both nations rejected the claims; none have publicly tested warheads since the 1990s.)
All three powers have signed (but not ratified) the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), prohibiting all explosive nuclear tests.
Lavrov also downplayed speculation of internal drama, denying any fallout with President Putin after his two-week media absence and a reportedly cordial call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He clarified the scrapped Budapest summit (initially proposed by the US) was unrelated to nuclear tensions, blaming Trump’s decision on perceived Russian insincerity over Ukraine—leading to fresh sanctions.
Moscow remains open to a Putin-Trump meeting, with Lavrov stressing: “I would not mix the topic of nuclear tests with the topic of the Budapest summit.”
Russia and the US together control about 85% of the world’s ~8,000 deployed/stored nuclear warheads (per SIPRI data), underscoring the high stakes.
This dialogue offer comes as both sides navigate fragile détente, with experts watching for de-escalation signals.
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