Russia, China Said Slowing Test Treaty
- By Carol Giacomo
- Mar. 19 1996 00:00
He said he told the other nuclear powers during talks here that they and the United States had a unique responsibility to secure a comprehensive test ban treaty, or CTBT, in 1996 and "we must lead the way in ... synchronizing our own approaches."
In a separate meeting, he warned India and other non-aligned states that their attempts to link the test ban treaty with a specific timetable for complete nuclear disarmament will ensure that neither goal is achieved.
Christopher said a global treaty opened for signature by September was "one of our highest [U.S.] national strategic priorities." Recent U.S. data suggesting Russia may have conducted a nuclear explosion could have added tensions to the two-year-old negotiations.
But Christopher said, "We believe they are complying with their self-imposed moratorium."
Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said it could not support claims of a Russian test.
Senior U.S. officials said privately on Sunday that Washington had recently had indications of a possible Russian test, but the data was not definitive.