“Infrastructure is being formed by the United States”: the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of the dangerous activities of biological laboratories on the border with Russia

American biological laboratories located in the former Soviet republics can lead the development of pathogens of dangerous diseases. This was announced on Friday, April 17, during a press briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.  

“It cannot be ruled out that in such reference laboratories, Americans in third countries are working on the creation and modification of various pathogens of dangerous diseases, including for military purposes,” said Zakharova.  

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that the so-called Richard Lugar Public Health Center is operating in Georgia. This organization is formally part of the U.S. military infectious disease control system. 

“Moreover, according to the information available, high-ranking Pentagon officials have recently been there again, offering the Georgian authorities to expand the range of research,” the diplomat added.  

According to Maria Zakharova, Moscow cannot ignore the fact that infrastructure with dangerous biological potential is being formed by the US authorities in close proximity to Russian borders. 

Lugar Laboratory 

From the point of view of analysts, the statements by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry have every reason.

“We are well aware that along the perimeter of the Russian borders in the territories of the post-Soviet republics there are laboratories in which studies are very active. They are ordered by the Pentagon, and these laboratories are financed, including through special services. It cannot be ruled out that there are developed both “combat” viruses and preparations that should ensure their neutralization, ”said Andrey Koshkin, an expert at the Association of Military Political Scientists, in a conversation with RT.

Recall that the features of the functioning of the Richard Lugar Public Health Center in Georgia were described, in particular, by the ex-minister of state security of the country Igor Giorgadze. In an interview with RT in 2018, he claimed that this laboratory was created since 2004 and was officially opened in 2011 with the participation of representatives of the Georgian authorities and the US Deputy Secretary of Defense.  

• At the Richard Lugar Public Health Center, Georgia
• RIA News
• © Denis Aslanov

Referring to documents received from the country, Giorgadze suggested that American military biologists, along with private contractors, could conduct experiments involving local residents as part of the center. Moreover, some of these experiments could have led to deaths: for example, 24 people who died on the same day are listed.

“From the very beginning, various rumors, conversations were circulating around the creation of this laboratory, its opening and activities, and local investigations were conducted. She caused alarm among those who lived and live next to her. The laboratory is located on the territory of the former Russian military base, Giorgadze noted. 

The ex-minister also noted that he did not receive a response from any of the 108 international organizations that he addressed with this problem. 

Commenting on Giorgadze’s statements, the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized that such a number of deaths is not recorded even in infectious diseases hospitals during large-scale epidemics.  

Ukrainian foothold 

In turn, the leader of the “Opposition Platform - For Life” faction, Viktor Medvedchuk, demanded that the Ukrainian authorities check the activities of 15 American laboratories, after the start of which outbreaks of dangerous diseases were recorded in the country.  

“We demand that the authorities disclose the facts of illegal“ cooperation ”between Ukraine and the USA in the field of the functioning of American biological laboratories in our country - the“ cooperation ”that began during President Yushchenko continued under President Poroshenko and is carried out under the current government,” the statement reads. appeal published on the party’s website. 

An example of such a laboratory is a certain “Scientific and Technical Center in Ukraine”. In a statement, Medvedchuk claims that this organization is financing projects to create weapons of mass destruction, and its employees have diplomatic immunity.  

Also, the Opposition Platform recalled that due to numerous violations in 2013, it was decided to terminate cooperation between Ukraine and the USA in the field of biological research. However, Medvedchuk recalls, with the coming to power of Petro Poroshenko, this program was resumed.  

In their appeal, Medvedchuk and party deputy Renat Kuzmin recall the successive outbreaks in Ukraine of hemorrhagic pneumonia, cholera, swine flu viruses H1N1 and hepatitis A.  

“Given the growing incidence of the population with serious infectious diseases, there is every reason to believe that the secret and opaque activity of dangerous foreign biological objects on the territory of Ukraine has the task of covert testing the effects of viruses and bacteria on Ukrainian citizens,” the deputies say. 

Andrei Koshkin noted that the appearance of such laboratories in the post-Soviet space is far from accidental, since their activities in these countries are practically not regulated by the local authorities.  

“It is difficult to find who is the ultimate beneficiary of such centers, because they belong to obscure foreign companies and firms. The local authorities do not have the right to access these facilities, since they have their own security, ”said Koshkin.  

To limit the activity of such biological centers, it is necessary to constantly draw the attention of the world community to their dubious affiliation and activity, the expert believes.  

He recalled that Russia is constantly raising this issue on world platforms, including at the UN, and raises the question of the need to tighten control over such facilities that are supposedly "subordinate to no one."  

“Little in common with peaceful science”

The Russian authorities have repeatedly paid attention to the recent appearance of a large number of American biological laboratories around the world. So, in 2019, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said this, noting that there can be more than two hundred such organizations.  

“Currently, the US has commissioned more than 200 biological laboratories around the world, including in the CIS, Ukraine, Georgia and Afghanistan. Their activities have little to do with peaceful science, ”Patrushev said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.  

The greatest concern in this context, according to the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, is the "facts of conducting experiments on people in them." 

“WHO should have developed a body that would keep control of such laboratories, especially private ones. It is not known why the biological laboratories involved in research in the field of viruses do not fall under the activities of institutes that monitor chemical and biological hazardous substances, ”said military expert Alexei Leonkov.

At the same time, from his point of view, Russia is doing a lot in order to protect itself from their possible impact.  

“There are special troops of the CBR protection, there is a strong medical department of virology and the strongest virologists in the world who have experience fighting these types of pathogens. At a time when the Ebola virus was rampant in West Africa, the vaccine developed by Russian virologists was the most effective and effective. She not only destroyed the virus, but also had no side effects, and accordingly, she remained healthy, ”the expert recalled.