MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. International control is needed for laboratories that study deadly viruses and infection leaks from these centers may trigger a disaster, former Russian Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an article, Six Lessons of One Pandemic, published in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta dally on Monday.
As the Russian security official pointed out, "vaccine nationalism is also fueled by various countries’ mutual serious suspicions that the deadly virus is of man-made nature. These assertions stem from the fact of the existence of laboratories that are studying deadly viruses in the United States "and, what is especially alarming for Russia, on the territory of our CIS partners."
"The activity of such centers is completely non-transparent. There is no international control of such research. The danger of a leak of an infection that the world may fail to live through is quite real. No doubt, this requires a system of control of such laboratories based on the principles of mutual openness," Medvedev stressed.
However, it is even more important "to create an inter-state system of mutual guarantees and full responsibility for possible consequences of the spread of dangerous substances and agents," the Russian security official said.
"In the conditions of a global world, their leak can within hours bring about a catastrophe. The international community should also agree that states should immediately inform each other in case of emergencies about biological or any other threats that arise" the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council said.