Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Russia supports Trump’s idea to bar development of biological weapons worldwide


(MENAFN) According to reports, Russia has expressed support for US President Donald Trump’s proposal to prohibit the development of biological weapons globally. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the initiative as “brilliant.”

Speaking at the United Nations this week, Trump emphasized his goal of reducing the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, stating that he was “calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and for all.” The US president also linked what he described as “reckless experiments overseas” to the Covid-19 pandemic, reiterating his previous claims that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory—a charge Beijing strongly denies.

Peskov told reporters on Thursday that the remarks were a “very important appeal” and a “brilliant initiative.” He added, “Of course, Russia is ready to participate in such a process of renunciation from bioweapons, and it would be good to formalize it at the international level.”

Most countries, including Russia, the US, and China, are members of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which bans the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons.

For years, Moscow has accused Ukraine—also a BWC member—of operating Western-backed biological laboratories and using chemical weapons on the battlefield. In late 2024, Russian officials claimed that the US continues to run 30 biolabs in Ukraine as part of an unlawful military-biological program, which it is allegedly seeking to expand into Africa.

In 2022, then-US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland acknowledged that Ukraine hosts “biological research facilities” but rejected allegations that they could be used for biological warfare. Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that American experts had finally begun to pay attention to Moscow’s concerns regarding biological facilities in Ukraine.

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