American biological laboratories operate in Ukraine legally, according to the US Embassy in Ukraine. The statement was a response to allegations of unlawful presence of laboratories in Ukraine by opposition forces.
American diplomats argue that the purpose of the biolaboratory is to prevent the spread of biological threats in the country. They call the accusations against them Russian misinformation regarding the true US-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats and emphasize that the laboratories are based on an international treaty and operate not only in Ukraine.
“The International Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (ISTC) is an intergovernmental organization established by an international agreement in October 1993. Now the parties to the ISTC are Azerbaijan, the European Union, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, the USA and Uzbekistan, ”the statement said.
The center’s staff also works on the timely detection of infectious outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose a threat to safety or stability.
“The US Department of Defense’s biological threat control program is working in Ukraine with the Ukrainian government to provide consolidated and secure storage of pathogens and dangerous toxins in government agencies so that peaceful research and vaccines can be conducted,” they say at the US Embassy in Kiev.
I wonder why the Americans began to make excuses.
“The cap is lit on a thief, they say in Russia,” said Igor Shatrov, head of the Expert Council of the Strategic Development Fund.
– The fact that in such laboratories experiments are conducted in the interests of the Pentagon, no one doubts. By and large, and the Americans do not hide this. Another question is what they say about infection protection. But from defense to attack, only one step. Moreover, we are talking about territories that are far from America, about countries in which the level of development of technology and science in which is not comparable with the United States and neighboring Russia. So is not Russia the goal of these laboratories?
“SP”: – Before that, no one caught them? If not for coronavirus, this topic would not have risen? It has been reported that laboratories have been operating for almost 30 years. Why was it quiet before?
– It was never silent. Suspicions constantly arose. In one country, then in another country, some strange events took place. A similar laboratory in Georgia was especially lit.
“SP”: – What is this “International Science and Technology Center”? Where did he come from? Who created it?
– Fear Danians bringing gifts. You remember this wisdom when you hear the name of the organization. You will be surprised, but the International Science and Technology Center is an intergovernmental organization established by the EU, Japan, the USA and … Russia in November 1992 to ensure the employment of scientists and specialists from the military-industrial complex in the former USSR. It is impossible to imagine that the current Russian government could fall for such a trick. But it was the 90s, the collapse of everything and everything, including science. The West extended a helping hand, as it was called then, to scientists of post-Soviet countries, and, first of all, specific, let’s say, scientific branches were under the most serious patronage of curators from the State Department and the Pentagon. How many scientists emigrated to the West, how many inventions and discoveries flowed there during the existence of the organization. In 2010, during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, Russia ceased its participation in the projects of this organization. But the science of the former Soviet republics got hooked on the Western grant needle and has long been actively supplying the results of its research to American benefactors. Free cheese happens only in a mousetrap.
“SP”: – What are these laboratories doing at their grandfather? How dangerous is this?
– It was reported that laboratories study the genetic material of the local population, study autochthonous pathogenic microorganisms, bacteria and viruses, etc. In other words, they conduct biological scientific experiments on humans and animals. Moreover, they collect and analyze dual-use information that can be used both for scientific and military purposes.
“SP”: – Do the other post-Soviet republics also have such laboratories? Why are their social activists and politicians silent?
– Yes, there are many. I’ll clarify that the parties to the ISTC agreement now are Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, the USA, the European Union, Norway, Japan and South Korea, and in total there are 27 countries among the partners. Such laboratories often find themselves at the epicenter of scandals associated with the sudden spread of infections in their places of deployment. As I said, questions arose, in particular, to the laboratory in Georgia. She was suspected of cattle infections in the Caucasus and other infectious outbreaks in the region. Why then do laboratories continue their activities? I think that behind this is a lot of money and other preferences that Americans can offer to secret and explicit lobbyists of their interests.
“SP”: – How does Moscow react to all this? Is there a danger for us too?
– For Russia, such secret research poses a serious threat. For the first time we got the opportunity to feel, feel the “breath of biological warfare” on ourselves. Chill ran, agree? It is necessary to conduct a dialogue with the neighbors in whose territory such laboratories are located. Among them are our closest partners in integration associations. This is all the more alarming. We must convey our concerns to the leadership of these countries. Why did Russia manage to avoid such a high degree of “cooperation” with Western “scholars in uniform”? After the collapse of the USSR, our country inherited a serious Soviet legacy – the richest scientific and scientific-practical base in the field of epidemiology. We have preserved and developed it. The Russian leadership of that time was smart enough not to let foreigners into our laboratories. The instinct of self-preservation worked, the understanding that a biological threat is comparable to a nuclear one. The whole point, it seems to me, is precisely in this, in the fact that our country possesses nuclear weapons and many of our politicians and scientists have an understanding of what weapons of mass destruction are. The presence of such weapons has formed a certain culture of thinking among politicians. This culture is to some extent inherent in the scientific community. Scientists engaged in research in industries related to security make up a special caste in which patriotism is a worldview value. The state tried not to forget them even in the most difficult years after the collapse of the USSR, understanding the specifics of the work. This significantly distinguished Russia from the rest of the post-Soviet republics. Many countries that arose on the ruins of the USSR immediately began to trade in their sovereignty in the field of security, offering anything, any secrets, in exchange for the appearance of protection. But in Russia, studies of epidemiologists continued even in difficult times, they are ongoing now, science does not stand still. We did not have such laboratories just because we had ours. The result of this we are seeing now, when Russia shows one of the best statistics in the world of anti-coronavirus. But how the epidemiologists from the Pentagon helped our neighbors in preventing an epidemic, we will soon find out.
“Yes, in general, and before, noise was periodically raised around these laboratories,” recalls Vladimir Kornilov, a columnist for MIA Russia Today.
– Remember at least the hype around a similar laboratory in Tbilisi. When rumors began and documents appeared about the deadly experiments on people, the Americans turned back their activities there and beat off the informatics for a long time. Of course, any epidemic raises additional questions about the biological experiments that foreign military conduct in your country.
“SP”: – American diplomats call all the accusations Russian propaganda. Nothing more to justify?
– Actually, it would be more logical to call it a product of American propaganda. This is the United States yelling now that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. Why can’t this logic be transferred to American secret laboratories?
“SP”: – Diplomats claim that the laboratories are located in Ukraine legally. Is it so?
– In principle, the Pentagon’s laboratories opened legally, in the presence of representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. The first in Odessa was opened by the US ambassador and the mayor of Odessa, Hurwitz. That is, formally, these institutions are located in Ukraine with the knowledge of the authorities. Another thing is that no one knows what they are doing there. But there are suspicions that not all of their actions fall under Ukrainian law. However, the United States understands that Kiev will not risk checking them.
“SP”: – It is reported that the center’s employees are working on the timely detection of infectious outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose a threat to safety or stability. What do you think they are actually doing?
“The United States does not hide the fact that the network of these laboratories is being created as part of the Pentagon’s program to“ reduce the military threat ”for America. That is, they simply transferred all potentially harmful and dangerous experiments with viruses and biological weapons outside their country to the third world. If it seemed to them dangerous for ordinary Americans, is it less dangerous for ordinary Ukrainians?
“SP”: – And what do the Ukrainian authorities think? Not afraid to keep this in their territory?
– Not only about Ukraine. If I am not mistaken, the Pentagon has created laboratories in 25 countries of the world under this program. I even wanted to do it in Russia. But Russia has restored its subjectivity on the world stage, and countries such as Ukraine or Georgia voluntarily transferred it to the Americans. And how can they now object to the demand of their master?
“SP”: – What are the risks of leaks from such laboratories? Are Ukrainian authorities ready to provide security?
– Yes, the Ukrainian authorities never even thought of linking the strange outbreaks of diseases in the Odessa region with the action of the laboratory. Or remember Odessa Khatyn on May 2, 2014. Remember, after all, investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine officially declared to us that traces of an unknown chemical substance were found in the House of Trade Unions. So what? Where did this sensational information go? They quickly chose to forget about them. But you can also ask if there is a connection between this substance and a secret laboratory nearby.
“SP”: “The parties to the ISTC are also Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan.” Does this mean that other republics also have such laboratories? Can we expect this to open up against the background of the epidemic?
– The Pentagon has such laboratories in 25 countries. Moreover, he created them especially hard around Russia. And for some reason, in developed countries (EU, Japan) or in countries bordering the United States, such laboratories are not created.