Pentagon bio-laboratories too close to Russia and China says Russian Foreign Minister

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The United States does not want to ensure the transparency of its military biological activity around the world, said the Russian Foreign Minister.

Moscow. Russsian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday criticized American military actions which he says are too close to Russia and China
The Russian envoy said American biolaboratory, which were created under the auspices of the Pentagon, are located along the perimeter of the borders of Russia and close to the borders of China.
“We have repeatedly drawn attention to the situation associated with the creation and development of biological laboratories. Most of them are under the auspices of the Pentagon, which the USA is creating around the world really, including in the SCO space, in the post-Soviet space.
And these laboratories are densely formed along the perimeter of the borders of the Russian Federation, and, respectively, close to the borders of the PRC, "Lavrov said at an online briefing on Wednesday following a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The event was held via video conference format.
The Minister also emphasized that since 2001 Russia, together with most other countries, including the People’s Republic of China has advocated an agreement on the preparation of a protocol to the convention on the prohibition of biological and toxin weapons.
The protocol would establish a mechanism for verifying compliance by the countries participating in the convention with an obligation not to produce biological weapons.
"The United States of America is categorically opposed to such a proposal almost single-handedly. Of course, now this problem has worsened," Lavrov said.
According to him, the US’s reluctance to ensure transparency of its military-biological activities in various regions of the world, leads to questions about what is actually happening and what goals are being pursued.
The Minister noted the need for transparency in the field of biosafety. This implies regular inspections during such research and monitoring by the international community.
Lavrov noted that the Russian Federation and other countries have long been in favour of formalizing these provisions under a single convention to prevent the creation of biological and toxin weapons.
However, the US is opposed. According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the fact that the United States do not want to conclude a treaty is suspicious.

“The US’s reluctance to ensure transparency in its military biological activities in various regions of the world, of course, leads to questions about what is actually happening and what goals are being pursued. We are conducting an active dialogue on this subject with all our partners, including within the framework of the CIS, we raise this issue in the SCO, "Lavrov said.
The Minister emphasized that there are positive examples. In particular, the Russian Federation has concluded an intergovernmental memorandum with Tajikistan, a similar document is being prepared with Uzbekistan. In addition, Russia is actively consulting with Kazakhstan, Armenia and other CIS countries.
“I believe that this work is very useful to dispel any concerns that may arise in connection with the emergence of such infectious diseases,” Lavrov said.
The Russian Foreign Minister believes that all countries should approach this problem on a universal basis and work out a verification mechanism to create a single convention on the prohibition of biological and toxin weapons.