The 9th meeting of the parliamentary commission to investigate the circumstances related to the creation of biological laboratories by US specialists in Ukraine was held.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev and Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Irina Yarovaya chaired the 9th meeting of the Parliamentary Commission to Investigate the Circumstances Related to the Creation of Biological Laboratories by US Specialists in Ukraine.
The MPs focused on the outcome of the Consultative Meeting of the States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) which took place in Geneva on 5–9 September 2022. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov delivered the keynote speech. Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kirillov and Defence Ministry representatives spoke at the meeting.
Key areas of preparation for the Russian delegation’s participation in the 9th Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention scheduled for late 2022 in Geneva were discussed. It was decided to ensure effective interaction between the commission and the executive authorities of the Russian Federation as part of Russia’s preparations for this event in order to inform the greatest possible number of states parties to the convention of Russia’s position within the BTWC.
According to Konstantin Kosachev, Russia’s position on the development of verification mechanisms that would allow confirming the degree of compliance with the BTWC by member states can count on the support of the maximum number of foreign delegations in Geneva.
“We are absolutely transparent in complying with our obligations under the convention and want this kind of transparency to be ensured among all participants in this important document without exception, specifically by way of adopting the corresponding protocol, which has been in development for more than 20 years now,” the senator said.
Kosachev said the fact that the United States and its allies, including Ukraine, are doing their best to block this work despite the opinion of the majority in the international community suggests that our concerns regarding the activities of US biolaboratories in Ukraine and other countries are well-grounded.
State Duma Deputy Speaker Irina Yarovaya noted that the activities of laboratories developing biological weapons in Ukraine create the genuine risk of biological sabotage against Russia, in connection with which it is particularly important to make the parliamentary commission’s findings known to the entire international community.