Russia's Medvedev Chairs 1st Meeting Of Security Council Body On Response To Infections

Russia's Medvedev Chairs 1st Meeting of Security Council Body on Response to Infections

Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday chaired the very first session of the council's commission on creating a system of defense against new infections

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2020) Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday chaired the very first session of the council's commission on creating a system of defense against new infections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked the government to form the commission headed by Medvedev.

"We need to use the existing protection mechanisms and create such a system � and I want to make a special emphasis on this � that will allow us to defend against new threats effectively, in a timely manner, and according to a certain algorithm," Medvedev said at the meeting.

During the session, the official mentioned that Russia is concerned by activities of US biological laboratories, including ones in the post-Soviet countries.

"[Activities at this labs] are not transparent, they are not conducted according to principles that are used by the world community, international organizations, and therefore questions arise," Medvedev said, adding that the issue became more pressing in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Russian official added that operations of such laboratories may lead to outbreaks of infectious diseases and pose a threat of using diseases as weapons.

Moscow has been expressing concern that the Richard G. Lugar Center for Public Health Research in Georgia, created with funds from the United States government, is being used to research infectious diseases in breach of international accords. Tbilisi and Washington have both dismissed the accusations.