Russian media agency quoted a senior Russian diplomat on Wednesday saying that Moscow will accelerate conducting a nuclear test if the United States takes a similar step, noting that Washington is currently working on preparing the necessary infrastructure for such a test.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a few days ago that his country would conduct a nuclear test if any other nuclear power did so, explaining that Moscow has detected signs indicating that an unnamed country is preparing to carry out such tests.

The Russian media agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying that Russia has noticed that the United States has been working for some time on preparing the infrastructure for these tests.

Ryabkov added that if the United States conducts a test, Moscow will quickly follow the same approach.