Moscow Urges Tbilisi To Jointly Tackle Issue Of Lugar Center Allegedly Testing Bio Weapons

Moscow believes that the lack of diplomatic relations with Georgia should not hamper joint cooperation on the issue of the Georgian Lugar Center, where Pentagon is, according to Russia's claims, running a secret biological weapons laboratory, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2018) Moscow believes that the lack of diplomatic relations with Georgia should not hamper joint cooperation on the issue of the Georgian Lugar Center, where Pentagon is, according to Russia's claims, running a secret biological weapons laboratory, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier in October that the Pentagon was running a secret biological weapons lab at the Lugar Center for Public Health and Research, located outside of Tbilisi. Pentagon tested toxic substances on local residents in attempts to research ways to deliver and unleash biological weapons agents in breach of international accords, according to the ministry.

"It seems to me that the Russian Foreign Ministry has tried to speak with the utmost respectfulness of all the issues that we see. Unfortunately, we do not have diplomatic relations, but it appears to me that this is a question of teamwork, it is not only a political issue .

.. Let's unite our capabilities and make this an issue of public control," Zakharova said, referring to the relations with Georgia.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the activities of the Pentagon involving placement of its biomedical labs in close proximity to Russian borders. In 2015, the Russian Foreign Ministry mentioned in this regard the Lugar lab hosting the US Army Medical Department's research unit. Moscow believes that the US and Georgian authorities were trying to hide the true content and focus of the activities of the US Army's unit studying particularly dangerous infectious diseases.

Georgia and the United States have both denied Russia's claims in comments to Sputnik. Georgia's government envoy for ties with Russia Zurab Abashidze called the allegations absurd, while US Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon said the center was owned and operated by Georgia's disease control center. Gamkrelidze refuted the claims on Friday as well.