---
category: Diplomacy
date: 1963-08-05
location: Moscow, Soviet Union
summary: The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963) was signed in Moscow by the United
  States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, prohibiting nuclear weapons tests
  in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.
tags:
- Concept
- Treaty
- Nuclear
---

The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty refers to international agreements aimed at prohibiting nuclear weapons tests. By December 1960, [Eisenhower](/people/dwight-d-eisenhower/) and [Nikita Khrushchev](/people/nikita-khrushchev/) had made steady progress in drafting a comprehensive treaty banning all nuclear tests, and such testing was suspended by both nations until September 1961. This success led to an overall heightened sensitivity about nuclear proliferation.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 6.