Russian FM slams US military-biological activity in CIS for posing security threats

Russia's Foreign Minister has slammed the United States military-biological activities in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), citing it as a security threat.

Speaking at a news conference following his visit to Uzbekistan on Friday, Sergei Lavrov warned that "there are threats of terrorism and threats posed by military-biological activities in our space by the United States and its allies, which create very dangerous precedents in terms of biological security. Also, there is a direct threat to public health and the environment."

Lavrov pointed out that removing dangers threatening peace and safety in the region was of utmost importance and required a joint effort.

In March 2022, the Russian State Duma and the Federation Council passed a resolution to conduct a parliamentary investigation into the biolabs in Ukraine.

The Russian investigating commission concluded on Wednesday that the US military is developing a "universal" genetically-altered bioweapon comparable to that of a "nuclear winter."

Personnel working at these Pentagon-funded biolabs in Ukraine revealed the emergency disposal of particularly dangerous pathogens on February 24, 2022, namely plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera, and other deadly diseases.

"The possession of such highly effective biological weapons creates, in the view of the US military, the real prerequisites to change the nature of contemporary armed conflicts," the commission said in its report.

Iran calls for intl. probe into US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine

Iran has called for an impartial international investigation into reports of US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine and other countries.

Prior to the start of the Russian campaign in Ukraine in late February 2022, then-US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland voiced concern over the materials developed at the biolabs.

Speaking at a congressional hearing at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Senate in 2022, Nuland confirmed that there were facilities in Ukraine that did research in the field of biology.

She said the Department of State was "concerned that the Russian military may be trying to take control of them," and is working with Ukraine to ensure that Kiev can "prevent any of these research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces."

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that in fact Nuland had confirmed the Pentagon’s involvement in biological programs in Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in Armenia also said in an earlier report that there were "organizations involved in bio-projects in Ukraine."

The Armenian government has reportedly denied the existence of the biolabs working in collaboration with US military personnel.

Russia has lodged a complaint, reporting the secret American military biolabs across the globe to the United Nations.

The Russian permanent envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, called on the UN Security Council in October to establish a panel to investigate the US-led military biological labs' activities that are banned according to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC).

The US is a signatory of the 1972-ratified BTWC, prohibiting the use of biological weapons as a kind of weapons of mass destruction (WND) that poses a serious threat to human life and property. However, the US had an official military biological weapons program from 1943 to1969.

China has also called on Washington to clarify the purpose of the US military's biological weapons activities despite its international obligations banning such programs.

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