Regnum agency published an article, again addressing the issue of the existence of biological laboratories in Armenia. In the article, the author tries to fabricate a conspiracy theory, accusing Yerevan of cooperating with the USA against Russia. In this regard, the author repeatedly reminded the Ministry of Defense of Russia’s statement on July 7, 2022, where the American military biologists' activities in the former USSR's territory were revealed.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia issued a statement informing that American military biologists' activities in the former USSR's territory were revealed. According to the claims of the Russian side, Georgia and Armenia participated in this campaign. The spread message says that Yerevan's "such gestures contradict the memorandum signed earlier between Russia and Armenia, which announced the rejection of any military biological developments by third powers on the territory of the two countries."
The US State Department denied the claims of the Russian side. Also, the Security Council of Armenia asserted that this step is a manifestation of a cooperative partnership aimed at reducing threats to global health security.
In a statement issued by the RA Security Council, it is said that the Coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) has highlighted the importance of strong national capacities for the control, diagnosis, and response of infectious diseases, and international cooperation and support play an essential role in developing these capacities.
"Our governments have cooperated openly and transparently within the framework of the Biological Threat Reduction Program, which is part of the US Department of Defense's Threat Reduction Agency program. These partnerships are exclusively for peaceful purposes and have nothing to do with biological weapons. Our governments firmly support the common approach that such cooperation should not be hindered but should be encouraged and strengthened. By Article 10, we encourage all states parties to the "Biological Weapons Convention" to work together to support this goal, including at the upcoming Review Conference," the RA Security Council statement said.
It is surprising that Regnum publishes such an article about Armenian-Russian relations without delving into the issue and tries to seek only commotions, accusing the Armenians of being anti-Russian. Armenia has repeatedly openly and honestly presented the activities of the mentioned laboratories at the public level and in private discussions with the Russians. Therefore, it is, in essence, a non-issue. It is possible that the article was written with a specific instruction to harm Armenian-Russian relations.
Hayk Magoyan
