Russia Won’t Be First to Test Nuclear Device: Deputy Foreign Minister

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends a news conference at the Russian Mission after his speech at the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva on March 2, 2023. Denis Balibouse/Reuters

GENEVA—Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday Russia would not be the first to test a nuclear device, following Moscow’s suspension of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.

Addressing reporters at the Russian mission in Geneva after a disarmament conference, Ryabkov said Moscow would not carry out tests if Washington also refrained, but that Russia still had to prepare for the worst.