MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Wednesday that neither China nor Russia has carried out secret nuclear tests, noting that Beijing had denied U.S. accusations that they had done so.
The United States this month accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020 and called for a new, broader arms control treaty that would involve both China and Russia.
“We have heard many references to certain tests. Both the Russian Federation and China have been mentioned in this regard. Neither the Russian Federation nor China have conducted any nuclear tests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“We also know that these accusations were categorically denied by a representative of the People's Republic of China, so that is the situation,” Peskov added.
US President Donald Trump is pressing China to join the United States and Russia in negotiating a pact to replace New START, the last nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, which expired on February 5.
The treaty's expiration has fueled concern among some experts that the world is on the brink of an accelerating nuclear arms race, although other arms control experts say those fears are overblown.
