The deputies in the State Duma voted on Wednesday in favor of Moscow's withdrawal from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, an additional step towards abandoning a historic agreement that prohibits conducting these tests.

The treaty, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, aims to ban all nuclear tests, but it has not been implemented yet due to the lack of accession by several major nuclear states, most notably the United States and China.

In a quick hearing on Wednesday, the members of the State Duma unanimously voted, under the second and third readings, to revoke their country's ratification of this treaty. As a result, the bill will be sent to the upper chamber of Parliament, the Federation Council, for a vote, before being sent to President Vladimir Putin for ratification and making it law.

Putin previously announced in early October that he is "not ready to say" whether Russia will conduct live nuclear tests.

Furthermore, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters last week that Moscow would only resume nuclear testing if Washington did so.

Both Russia and the United States signed the treaty in 1996. While Russia ratified it in 2000, Washington did not take a similar step.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said prior to the vote, "We have waited for the United States to ratify this treaty for 23 years."

He also added, "But Washington, because of its double standards and irresponsible stance on global security issues, has not done so."

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has repeatedly addressed his country's nuclear capabilities and its readiness to resort to them if threatened. This has drawn criticism from Western countries and accusations against Moscow of adopting reckless rhetoric.

Earlier in 2023, Russia suspended its participation in the "New START" treaty, which is the last bilateral agreement between it and the United States related to nuclear weapons.