MINSK, January 23. /TASS/. Russia invites the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to discuss the expansion of the regional biological security system amid US military biological activities, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin stated at the meeting of the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of the CIS member-states.

"We are committed to close biosecurity cooperation. <...> This area has acquired special significance in the light of the newly revealed facts about US military biological activities, violations of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). According to the information received, the Pentagon and its associated organizations are developing biological weapons components near the CIS borders. I suggest that we think together about expanding the regional biosecurity system, including the formation of an appropriate legal framework," Pankin added.

Earlier, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said that the United States had deployed a network of laboratories around Russia and was conducting experiments with the use of biomaterials of the Slavs. According to the senior official, the main threat to the biosecurity of central Russia comes precisely from Washington's activities.