Kremlin denies claims it might be preparing for nuclear weapons test

The Kremlin has played down claims that Russia might be preparing to carry out a nuclear weapons test.

Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, told the Kommersant newspaper earlier this week that Russia was the only country talking about the possible resumption of nuclear testing.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on April 28 that "at the moment everyone is sticking to the moratorium [on the testing of nuclear weapons]. There is nothing more to say here," according to Sky News.

Vladimir Putin said in February that some in the US were considering breaking the moratorium and that Russia should be ready to act similarly.

He said that "if the US conducts tests, then we will. "No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed."

In February, Putin announced Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms pact with the US, which limits the number of strategic warheads each side can deploy.