US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have been accused at Westminster of “macho posturing” over suggestions they could resume testing nuclear weapons, which former top brass warn would “open a Pandora’s box”. Recent comments made by the two world leaders were “incredibly dangerous”, argued Lord West of Spithead, who previously headed the Royal Navy and served as a defence minister.
The Labour peer cautioned the breaking of a test ban would mean everybody being “far less safe”. Mr Putin has said Moscow will only restart nuclear tests if the US does so first, but he ordered officials to work up proposals for carrying out such an exercise. The move came after Mr Trump appeared to signal the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades, saying it would be on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.
But US energy secretary Chris Wright subsequently said new tests would not include carrying out nuclear explosions.
Mr Trump made the announcement on social media, days after Mr Putin announced successful trials of a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missile and underwater drone.
The US military has also regularly tested nuclear-capable weapons, but it has not detonated atomic weapons since 1992.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which the US signed but did not ratify, has been observed since its adoption by all countries possessing nuclear weapons, North Korea being the only exception.
Mr Putin in 2023 signed a law withdrawing Russia’s ratification of the global agreement, which Moscow said was needed to put it on the same footing as the US.
Questioned in Parliament over Mr Trump’s recent statement regarding the testing of nuclear weapons, defence minister Lord Coaker said: “The United Kingdom has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and continues to press for its entry into force. We remain committed to our voluntary moratorium on nuclear test explosions, having ceased nuclear testing in 1991.
“The nuclear testing policy of the United States is a matter for the US government, and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.”
Responding, Lord West said: “It is easy to look on this as some sort of playground bravado by President Trump, who clearly did not understand the implications of, or what was meant by, the trials of delivery systems that Putin was conducting.
“With him having made his statement, President Putin wanted to show how tough he was and made his statement about doing tests again. This would be probably quite amusing if it was not so incredibly dangerous.
“The comprehensive test-ban treaty is one of the few treaties regarding nuclear weapons that are still in existence. Many have fallen by the wayside. We are less safe than we used to be because of that.
“If the comprehensive test-ban treaty is broken, it opens a Pandora’s box. All of us will be far less safe. That is extremely worrying.”
He urged the Government to make clear its support of the test ban to the US.
Lord Coaker said: “The comprehensive test-ban treaty is a really successful treaty, and we continue to push and to do all we can to ensure that it is as effective as it is with as many states as possible. We look forward to everyone who signed it ratifying it in due course.”
Liberal Democrat Lord Bruce of Bennachie said: “In a conflict-beset world, a credible nuclear deterrent is unarguable, but macho posturing by the leaders of the United States and Russia is an alarming development that undermines the non-proliferation treaty.”
He added: “A nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought.”
Lord Coaker said: “Part of having a nuclear deterrent is to deter from war, deter from aggression.
“The restatement of the deterrent policy is consistent with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, under which… the UK is allowed to have weapons.”
