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Statement by the Deputy Head of the Delegation of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director of the Department for Non-proliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Konstantin Vorontsov at the Ninth Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Review Conference to exercise the right of reply, Geneva, 28 November, 2022

29 November 2022 17:38
2453-29-11-2022

Unofficial translation

Mr President,

We are forced to once again exercise the right of reply in order to respond to Georgian unrealistic statements and attempts to accuse the Russian Federation of the alleged disinformation. It is much more easy to qualify something as disinformation rather than respond on the substance.

The delegation of Georgia has not answered the question why the U.S military personnel is present on the permanent basis at the Lugar Center located close to Tbilisi. What kind of research does the U.S. military division conduct on the territory of Georgia? Why Georgia does not provide the information on such research in the context of the BTWC confidence-building measures?

These are simple questions which have not been answered yet. Where is the transparency to which the delegation of Georgia refers?

As for the visit to the Lugar Center by a group of foreign experts in November 2018, it has nothing to do with the BTWC compliance provisions. This event was organized in order to mislead its participants in terms of the true status of this facility. The program did not include any verification elements which will make it possible to build an objective picture in terms of the BTWC compliance and confirm the information contained in the Georgian statements on confidence-building. We have also not received the answer to the key issues: why the Georgian medical laboratory is funded by the U.S. military and why the above mentioned U.S. Army Medical Research Directorate-Georgia is present within its premises on a permanent basis. The report on this visit submitted to the 2018 meeting of the States Parties to the BTWC, to which the delegation of Georgia refers, was not adopted by consensus and was backed by a limited number of States (mainly the Western States).

We would like to receive answers to these simple questions.

Thank you.