The key facts

  • Russia has prepared more than 20 working documents on regulating the Biological Weapons Convention
  • According to the Russian Security Council, Western countries are blocking these initiatives
  • The statement was made at the collective security forum in Moscow

Statement at the Moscow forum

Andrei Gusev, a referent of the Security Council of Russia's apparatus, said at the international forum on ensuring collective security in Moscow that Western countries are blocking Russian initiatives to create mechanisms for responding to challenges related to synthetic biology and dual-use scientific research. Gazeta.Ru reported this citing RIA Novosti.

The essence of the complaints about the Convention

According to Gusev, despite progress in science and technology, the Biological Weapons Convention still lacks mechanisms capable of addressing modern challenges — in particular, those related to synthetic biology and dual-use research. He also stressed the need to take into account not only natural threats but also deliberately created bio-risks. Russia, he claimed, has developed more than 20 working documents with proposals for regulating the Convention, but Western states continue to block them.

Context of previous statements

The statement continues a series of public remarks by Russian agencies on biological matters. On October 20, Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, statedthat Russia expects proper answers from the United States to questions about American military-biological activity near Russian territory. Earlier, the FSB of Russia accused NATO of developing biological weapons in various regions of the world. All of the statements listed are the position of Russian agencies; the publications provide no confirmations or reactions from Western parties.