US Remains Silent on Activities of Biological Laboratories Operating in Armenia: Russian Embassy

The presence of organizations involved in biological projects in Ukraine within Armenia deserves thorough analysis. This statement was made by the Russian Embassy in Armenia.

According to a statement from the diplomatic mission, the Russian Federation continues to engage in effective and mutually beneficial cooperation with Armenia in the field of biological security. This collaboration was enhanced by the signing of a bilateral intergovernmental memorandum on biological safety issues in May 2021.

“A number of successful projects are being implemented in the fight against infectious diseases, resulting in effective continuous monitoring of the sanitary-epidemiological situation, information exchange, conducting important scientific research, providing technical and methodological support for improving Armenia's laboratory network, and training qualified specialists,” the statement read.

Thanks to bilateral cooperation in the fight against HIV, Armenia became one of the first countries to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Joint efforts utilizing mobile laboratories transferred from Russia have allowed for the prevention of outbreaks of plague and other dangerous infections on Armenian territory.

At the same time, the embassy noted that in the context of implementing the mentioned memorandum on biosafety, there remain questions regarding the information received from the US and its allies about biological cooperation with Armenia, including in the military sector.

“The US Department of Defense directs the Richard Lugar Center (in Georgia) to enhance collaborative scientific research in microbiology and epidemiology with Armenia and other countries in the region. The activities of certain private Western companies conducting biological research in the South Caucasus based on Pentagon interests also merit detailed analysis, along with the presence of those organizations in Armenia that participated in biological projects in Ukraine,” the statement added.

The embassy pointed out that the US and its allies do not explain what they are doing in Armenia, which is in close proximity to Russian borders. This factor is naturally taken into account by the embassy in the context of ensuring Russia's biological security.

Earlier, in response to an inquiry from Sputnik Armenia, the Armenian Ministry of Health reported that visits to the so-called “biological laboratories” in Armenia have been organized for specialists from Russia, the US, and the EU within the framework of cooperation with Russia, the US, and the EU.