Russia Slams 'Unacceptable' US Bio Weapons Research Near Its Borders

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2022) Russia believes that the United States has been researching pathogens near the Russian border for use in its biological weapons program, the deputy Russian foreign minister in charge of arms control said Thursday.

"Russia has every reason to believe that components of biological weapons have been developed in the immediate vicinity of Russian borders. In particular, we have observed the US and its allies conducting biological warfare research beyond their national borders, including on our neighbors' territory," Sergey Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow.

Russia finds it "unacceptable," he added, that foreign military officials working in countries bordering Russia have been sampling human pathogens and exporting national collections of infectious diseases, including extremely dangerous and vaccine-resistant strains.

The senior Russian diplomat spoke at a briefing ahead of the 9th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention, which will take place in Switzerland from November 28 to December 16. The convention prohibits the development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons, and advocates their destruction.