Russian Foreign Minister Warns US Biology Lab Poses Deadly Threat: There Are Hundreds In The World, Nearly 30 In Ukraine

Menteri Luar Negeri Russia Sergei Lavrov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - The activities of American biological laboratories are fraught with life-threatening dangers for large numbers of civilians, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

"I believe that the global community is fully aware and not yet fully aware of the unacceptableness of such an activity which is actually fraught with a deadly threat to a large number of civilians," Foreign Minister Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS March 16.

According to him, the unearthed facts show the colossal scope of US illegal activities to spread its military biology laboratories around the world.

"There are hundreds of such laboratories, including nearly 30 only in Ukraine alone. And many have been set up in a number of ex-Soviet countries precisely along the Russian border, also on the Chinese border, and on the borders of other countries. The countries that are there," he said.

"We will demand, in this situation, that first this issue is considered in the context of commitments to all countries participating in the Biological and Poison Weapons Convention," Foreign Minister Lavrov said.

"Secondly, we will redouble and redouble our efforts to get America to stop blocking our proposals submitted 20 years ago, about the need to establish a special verification mechanism under this convention for any alarming reports that there are agencies out there that could be used to make biological weapons," he said.

The US opposes this mechanism, as it would ensure transparency of any biological activity, the top diplomat stressed.

"America does not want to see this transparency, because it is easier for them to do everything under their control, which they are still doing," Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed.

Earlier, the head of the Russian Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces Igor Kirillov informed that a network of more than 30 biological laboratories was established in Ukraine, which was contracted by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). According to Kirillov, on February 24, all these laboratories received orders from Ministry of Health of Ukraine to completely dispose of the biological agents stored in such laboratories.