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🎙️Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Russian media outlets(Moscow, November 11, 2025) Read in full ❓Question: Moscow and Washington have almost simultaneously announced nuclear test plans. Does this signify global instability or rather demonstrate equal capabilities and thus the preservation of parity? 💬Sergey Lavrov: I have heard nothing about Moscow announcing nuclear tests, so it is inaccurate to say that Washington and Moscow made such statements simultaneously. As I mentioned in a recent interview with Russian media outlets, we have so far not received clarifications from our US counterparts as to what exactly President Donald Trump meant to convey in his remarks. Was it nuclear tests, delivery vehicle tests, or subcritical tests which do not involve a nuclear reaction and are permitted under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)? There has been no answer to that so far. The CTBT Preparatory Commission met yesterday, but a US representative failed to provide any clarifications, either, although such a forum is clearly the right place to clarify what the US President had in mind when he said that. <…> What may the geopolitical goal of the United States look like? 👉Domination, right? The use of nuclear weapons argument in this setting is alarming and represents a significant departure from the concept once agreed upon by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev where a nuclear war cannot be won and therefore must never be fought. Robert Kadlec seeking the position of Assistant Secretary of Defence also stated that nuclear options should be developed to respond to certain regional conflicts that may flare up. That, too, is a rather curious statement. It’s a direct tell that this gentleman, once in office, will be thinking in terms of using nuclear threats in order to achieve the outcomes that the United States may need in a particular region. He then went on to demonstrate even more instances of double standards when he said that NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy might be revised in the wake of Russia deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Yet, the fact that this was done after many decades of joint nuclear missions with US tactical nuclear weapons long stationed in five NATO member states and the fact that we have long proposed to redeploy all nuclear weapons back to the countries that own them was simply ignored. Since Belarus has received nuclear weapons from Russia, the US side now wants to deploy theirs somewhere else as well. We are aware of ongoing contacts with South Korea and Japan. These games are very dangerous. Back to your question, we have not announced nuclear test plans. At a meeting of the Security Council’s permanent members, President Vladimir Putin highlighted US President Donald Trump’s statement that Russia and China have long been doing this, and therefore the United States must do so, too. We immediately contacted our counterparts and let them know that there must have been a misunderstanding. We are looking forward to receiving clarifications. President Putin has issued a directive not to conduct nuclear tests and not even to make preparations for them. The Foreign Ministry, along with other agencies, including military and intelligence, has been instructed to analyse the situation and to reach a consensus on whether this situation warrants considering the resumption of nuclear tests. Our principled position was laid out by President Putin in 2023, when, taking a question during one of his speeches, he said that if a nuclear power were to conduct nuclear weapons test (not delivery system tests, not subcritical tests), then Russia will respond in kind. <…> #RussiaUS#CTBT

🇷🇺🇺🇸📞 Presidents of Russia & the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke over the phone (March 18, 2025) The Leaders continued their detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation surrounding Ukraine. Vladimir Putin extended gratitude to Donald Trump for his striving to achieve the noble goal of ending the hostilities and loss of life. Confirming his fundamental commitment to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the President of Russia expressed willingness to thoroughly work out possible solutions in cooperation with the American partners, aimed at reaching a settlement that would be comprehensive, reliable, and lasting, and, naturally, take into account the essential need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, as well as Russia's legitimate security interests. Concerning US President's proposal to declare a 30-day ceasefire, the Russian Side outlined a number of significant points regarding ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire frontline, as well as the need to stop the forced mobilisation in Ukraine and rearming the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was noted that some serious risks exist pertaining to the intractability of the Kiev regime which had repeatedly sabotaged and violated negotiated agreements. An emphasis was made on barbaric acts of terrorism committed by Ukrainian militants against civilians residing in the Kursk Region. It was pointed out that a complete cessation of providing Kiev with foreign military aid and intelligence must become the key condition for preventing an escalation of the conflict and making progress towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means. Referring to Donald Trump's recent appeal to spare the lives of the Ukrainian servicemen surrounded in the Kursk Region, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Russian Side was willing to embrace humanitarian motives and guaranteed that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would live and be treated fairly in accordance with Russian legislation and international law in the event of surrender. During the conversation, Donald Trump put forward a proposal for the parties to mutually refrain from strikes on energy infrastructure for 30 days. Vladimir Putin responded favourably to the proposal and immediately gave the relevant order to the Russian troops. Just as favourable was the Russian President's response to Donald Trump's suggestion to implement a well-known proposal regarding the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The Leaders agreed to begin talks to further work out specific details of such an agreement. Vladimir Putin made it known that on March 19, the Russian and Ukrainian sides would carry out an exchange of prisoners, each swapping 175 people. Additionally, as a gesture of goodwill, 23 heavily wounded Ukrainian soldiers currently receiving aid at Russian medical facilities will also be repatriated. The Leaders confirmed their intention to continue efforts aimed at reaching a settlement in Ukraine bilaterally, with due regard in particular to the aforementioned proposals by the US President. For this purpose, a Russian and an American expert task forces are now being formed. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump also addressed some other international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and in the Red Sea region. Joint efforts will be made to stabilise the situation in the crisis spots and establish cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation and global security. This will, in turn, contribute to improving the overall ambiance of relations between Russia and the United States. One positive example is the recent vote in the UN on a resolution on the Ukraine conflict, in which the two countries aligned their stances. The Leaders expressed mutual interest in normalising the bilateral ties in light of the special responsibility for ensuring global security and stability borne by both Russia and the United States. <...> 🤝 The Presidents agreed to stay in touch on all the issues raised. #RussiaUS