Moscow, November 2 – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law withdrawing the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), according to an official publication on the government’s website. The initiative was introduced to parliament on October 13. The law cancels the first article of the existing legislation, which proposed the ratification of the agreement signed on behalf of the Russian state on September 24, 1996. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, clarified that Moscow has no intention of resuming nuclear testing, but rather aims to be on an equal footing with Washington. However, in March, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed growing concern about the situation surrounding the CTBT due to US actions. On October 18, when members of the State Duma (Russian Parliament) passed the initiative, the US conducted underground tests at the Nevada test site, where nuclear weapons were previously tested.