Russian lawmakers have been given until Oct. 18 to study how best to revoke Moscow's ratification of a landmark treaty banning nuclear tests, after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the move.
Russia's envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said Friday that Moscow would revoke its ratification of the pact, in a move Washington denounced as endangering "the global norm" against nuclear test blasts.
The step is viewed by some Western security analysts as a pointed reminder from Moscow that it still possesses the world's largest nuclear arsenal, at a time when it is locked in a standoff with the West over Ukraine.