Russia Proposes Binding Protocol to Strengthen Biological Weapons Convention

Dragon Media Newsroom

Russia has proposed developing a universal, legally binding and non-discriminatory protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (BTWC).

Speaking on October 19 during a debate in the First Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, said the protocol should cover all provisions of the Convention and include an effective verification mechanism. He also said decisions on implementation should be reached by consensus.

Vorontsov described the BTWC as a pillar of international security that prohibits an entire category of weapons of mass destruction and helps reduce the risk of biological agents being used for military purposes. He said Russia, as a depositary state, fully implements the Convention.

He repeated Moscow’s allegations that military-biological activities had been conducted in Ukraine with support from the Pentagon and affiliated entities. He said Russia’s questions about the alleged activities remained unanswered and that projects in Ukrainian laboratories indicated biological weapons components had been developed near Russian territory. The statement did not present evidence for these allegations.

Vorontsov also cited claims concerning former US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, saying she had acknowledged long-term US funding for experiments involving viruses at more than 120 foreign biological laboratories, over 40 of them in Ukraine.

He further accused Western countries of politicizing the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, warning that this could weaken the chemical weapons non-proliferation regime and the wider system of arms control.