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CSTO PA adopts statement on inadmissibility of developing bioweapons

According to the document, the CSTO PA notes the increased role of the BTWC "amid the modern challenges in the field of biological security, including the possibility of using achievements in biotechnology for non-peaceful purposes"

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA) at a plenary session on Monday adopted a statement on the inadmissibility of developing biological and toxin weapons, as well as on strict compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC).

"We declare our commitment to a world free from biological weapons and proceed from the assumption that the CSTO member-countries’ state bodies will pool efforts in coordinating the work for the unconditional implementation of the convention within the organization's space and strengthening the legislative basis in this field," the statement reads.

According to the document, the CSTO PA notes the increased role of the BTWC "amid the modern challenges in the field of biological security, including the possibility of using achievements in biotechnology for non-peaceful purposes."

The statement says that non-compliance with the Convention "may lead to emergence of potential biological threats."

"We advocate strict compliance with the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare and withdrawal of all reservations for the Protocol," the lawmakers noted.

The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly statement calls on lawmakers of the world to get down to work on perfection of state mechanisms that provide for security and supervision of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins, on reinforcement of international potential within the Convention framework, and on prevention of establishment of parallel mechanism that duplicate the Convention functions and operate in circumvention of the UN Security Council.

"We call to use the Inter-parliamentary Union platform, as well as other international parliamentary organizations, for assistance in implementation of the Convention," the document says.

Earlier, CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Chairman, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that Russian specialists have "revealed facts of US military biological activity on Ukrainian territory."

"[They have] also confirmed the violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention by the US. […] The US military biological activity poses a threat for the entire mankind. It is important to jointly develop efficient measures to ensure safety of our citizens," Volodin noted.