Trump Just Called For The US To Resume Nuclear Testing – And Even The Kremlin Was Caught Off Guard

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/690347e62300005d35be1dca.jpeg?cache=AkRofqhz5L&ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin" data-caption="Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Getty" />Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p><a href="news/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Donald Trump </a>has called for the US to resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades, leaving even <a href="news/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russian</a> officials a little bewildered.</p><p>The US president declared on Thursday that he ordered the US military to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after 33 years.</p><p>He made the surprising announcement moments before his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, and claimed it was because of “other countries’ testing programmes”.</p><p>Trump insisted this would mean the US would start testing on “an equal basis”. </p><p>It’s not entirely clear which nations the president was <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/did-donald-trumps-new-nuclear-threats-alarm-vladimir-putin_uk_6890b1a2e4b08e0340526c5c">referring</a> to, but the declaration came days after he criticised Moscow for testing its latest missiles.</p><p>The US has not tested its nuclear weaponry since 1992 while China last tested in 1996.</p><p>Post-Soviet Russia has not tested a nuclear weapon at all – despite plenty of <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/putin-nuclear-weapons-sabre-rattling-russia-weaknesses-4007284?srsltid=AfmBOorZTa-cCGFKPPboXZ65kXtQtksPH-0C3-shUCJEORW0Lhtv8CmQ" target="_blank&quot