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Statements on foreign control of Kazakh labs groundless, senator says

It was also highlighted that these laboratories are not secret and closed facilities, their operations are transparent and can be inspected by international experts

NUR-SULTAN, April 28. /TASS/. Assertions by some foreign politicians that laboratories in Kazakhstan may be involved in military biological research under foreign control are groundless, Kazakh senator Akhylbek Kurishbayev said on Thursday.

He noted that the biological laboratories in Kazakhstan are involved in the development of diagnostic and preventive products against the particularly dangerous pathogens of the second and third group and thus do not work with the particularly dangerous viruses of the first group with a high degree of mortality.

The senator pointed out that these laboratories belong to Kazakhstan and are fully financed by it. "They do not receive foreign grants and foreign researchers do not work here," he explained.

He also highlighted that these laboratories are not secret and closed facilities, their operations are transparent and can be inspected by international experts. "The construction of BSL-3 research laboratories was conducted by Kazakh specialists under the complete control of the Kazakh government. We engaged US experts only to be confident in the biosafety of these laboratories, taking into account the latest scientific achievements and the cutting-edge expertise," the legislator noted.

Additionally, according to him, Kazakhstan is a responsible participant of the Biological Weapons Convention while the republic’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has a number of important initiatives in this sphere. "Due to this, I would like to note that the statements by foreign politicians that these Kazakh laboratories may be involved in military biological research under the control of foreign states are incorrect and absolutely unfounded," the senator concluded.

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