Moscow. October 7. INTERFAX - Russia and China believe that the military-biological activities of the United States and its allies pose a threat to their national security, the Russian and Chinese Foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
"The parties share the view that such activities pose a serious threat to the national security of the Russian Federation and China and harm the security of the respective regions," the ministers said in a statement on strengthening the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BTWC).
In the document, the text of which is posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the parties emphasize that "the foreign military biological activities of the United States and its allies (more than 200 American biological laboratories, whose activities are secret and non-transparent, are located outside the national territory of the United States) cause serious concerns and questions from the international community regarding compliance with the BTWC"
"The Russian Federation and China note that the military biological activities of the United States and its allies on their national territory also raise serious concerns about compliance with the Convention," the statement said.
"Given the fact that the United States and its allies do not provide any significant information about such military biological activities that could dispel the concerns of the international community, the Russian Federation and China call on the United States and its allies to act openly, transparently and responsibly, properly informing about their military biological activities carried out abroad and on their national territory, as well as supporting the resumption of negotiations on a legally binding Protocol to the BTWC with an effective verification mechanism, thereby guaranteeing compliance with the BTWC," it says.
