Moscow Alarmed by US Media Campaign to Justify Leaving Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Russian FM Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow sees alarming signs of the start of a media campaign in the United States to prepare the ground for abandoning the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which calls into question the future of this document, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. "Revisionism clearly manifests itself in the area of strategic stability ... Now we see alarming signs of the start of a US media campaign to prepare the ground for the complete withdrawal from of the CTBT [that the United States has never ratified], which calls into question the future of this crucial for international peace and security document," Lavrov said in an article for the Russia in Global Affairs magazine. Following the suspension of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) by the Trump administration under the pretext of Russia's alleged violation of the accords, the US intelligence agency accused Russia of violating a nuclear test moratorium under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), presenting no evidence to back up the claim. Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov said that Russia categorically rejects US claims on alleged violations of the CTBT, adding that these allegations were an attack on the arms control mechanism. Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/201909201076844002-moscow-alarmed-by-us-media-campaign-to-justify-leaving-nuclear-test-ban-treaty-russian-fm-says/