Russia accuses US, Ukraine of possession of biological weapons, mentions Tbilisi Lugar Lab

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Ukraine and the United States of developing and possessing biological weapons and demanded public explanations from the United States over the issue. 

She has also mentioned the US-built Tbilisi Lugar Lab which is under the full control of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control and where Russians have been invited many times to make sure no illegal activities were taking place there. 

However, Russians dismissed the invitations all the time. 

Zakharova said that Russia is demanding the United States ‘to disclose details of the activities carried out in the biological laboratories of Ukraine.” 

She noted that certain measures should be taken to prevent military biological acts against the Convention on Biological Weapons.

“These days, we have confirmed our long-standing fear which has been repeatedly voiced in previous years about the making of military biological materials on the territory of Ukraine under the auspices of the relevant US special services, ,” Zakharova said.

“This was confirmed not only by the materials and data that were operatively obtained on the territory of Ukraine and by the statements of relevant departments of Ukraine, but was also directly confirmed in the speech of US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland,” Zakharova claimed. 

 

“In 2020, we also expressed concern about US military-biological activity in the post-Soviet space, for example in Georgia. Numerous questions have been asked about the activities of the Lugar Research Center,” she said. 

 

Zakharova made the statement following Russia’s move to invade Ukraine.