Trump and Putin’s nuclear ‘macho posturing’ dangers ‘opening Pandora’s field’
US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have faced accusations at Westminster of “macho posturing” following hints they might restart nuclear weapons testing.
Now former military chiefs are warning this could “open a Pandora’s box”.
Lord West of Spithead, ex-Royal Navy chief and former defence minister, branded recent remarks by both world leaders as “incredibly dangerous”.
The Labour peer warned that breaking the test ban would leave everyone “far less safe”.
Putin has stated Moscow would only resume nuclear testing if Washington acts first, though he has instructed officials to prepare proposals for such exercises.
This followed Trump’s apparent indication that America would restart nuclear weapons testing for the first time in three decades, claiming it would be on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.
(Image: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AFP via Getty Images)
However, US energy secretary Chris Wright later clarified that any new tests would not involve nuclear detonations.
Trump’s social media announcement came just days after Putin revealed successful trials of a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missile and underwater drone.
Whilst the US military routinely tests nuclear-capable weapons, it hasn’t detonated atomic devices since 1992.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed but not ratified by the US, has been respected by all nuclear-armed nations since its introduction, with North Korea being the sole exception. In 2023, Putin signed a law that saw Russia withdraw its ratification of the global agreement, a move Moscow claimed was necessary to level the playing field with the US.
When questioned in Parliament about Trump’s recent comments on nuclear weapons testing, Defence Minister Lord Coaker stated: “The United Kingdom has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and continues to press for its entry into force.
(Image: RAMIL SITDIKOV, POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“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.”
In response, Lord West commented: “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.”
(Image: Win McNamee, Getty Images)
He called on the Government to clearly demonstrate its backing of the test ban to the US.
Lord Coaker declared: “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 warned: “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 went on to stress: “A nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought.”
Lord Coaker explained: “Part of having a nuclear deterrent is to deter from war, deter from aggression.”
He concluded: “The restatement of the deterrent policy is consistent with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, under which… the UK is allowed to have weapons.”
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