ASTANA, April 3. /TASS/. Ukraine is not the United States’ only proving grounds for testing biological weapons, with Washington also setting its sights on other ex-Soviet countries, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said.
"Ensuring medical and biological security across the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s territory remains a serious challenge. As has been repeatedly said at our meetings, there is irrefutable evidence of Washington’s large-scale biological activities in Ukraine," he pointed out, addressing the 19th annual meeting of security council secretaries from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, which is taking place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
"Ukraine is not the only country to become a proving grounds for biological weapons. Other former Soviet countries are also being eyed," the Russian Security Council secretary noted.
This is why it is of utmost importance to discuss ways to ensure biological security within the SCO, he added.
"We believe that it’s crucial to establish a mechanism for regular expert consultations on biosecurity on the SCO platform, which will involve the [member states’] foreign ministries, in particular," Patrushev noted.