Moscow Warns About US Biolabs in Central Asia Capable of Creating 'Race-Specific' Viruses
16:46 23.06.2023 (Updated: 18:11 23.06.2023)
© Sputnik / Aleksey Nikolskyi
/ Subscribe
In February 2022, the Russian Defense Ministry discovered the existence of 30 US-funded military biological laboratories in Ukraine. According to Moscow, Washington has spent over $200 million to develop biological weapons at the facilities.
Moscow is particularly concerned by the Pentagon's biolabs operating in Central Asia, similar to those it used to run in Ukraine and Georgia, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday.
These labs are capable of creating "race-specific" viruses, the Russian secuirty chief warned.
US, Allies Seek to Destabilize Central Asia
The United States and the United Kingdom seek to destabilize the situation in Central Asian countries in order to warrant the expansion of NATO's military presence in the region, Patrushev said on Friday.
"Central Asia has become a priority target of their information influence to establish control over the population. The manipulation of public opinion by Washington and London is aimed at aggravating the internal political situation, pressuring the authorities and forming a stratum of the population that shares values alien to the centuries-old traditions of Central Asian peoples," Patrushev said at the inaugural Russia-Central Asia meeting of security council chiefs in Kazakhstan.
"The Americans and the British are trying to manipulate the terrorist insurgency in Afghanistan to their advantage by provoking tensions on the borders with Central Asian countries. Given the interest of Afghanistan's neighbors in strengthening their borders and improving the training and equipping their security forces, the United States and its NATO allies are seeking to expand their presence in Central Asia and create more opportunities to influence them," Patrushev said.
