Paata Imnadze, the head of the scientific council of the Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), refused to allow reporters from the RIA Novosti and Sputnik news agencies, as well as other Russian media outlets to visit the country's Lugar Center, with only Georgian journalists able to enter.
TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2018) Paata Imnadze, the head of the scientific council of the Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), refused to allow reporters from the RIA Novosti and Sputnik news agencies, as well as other Russian media outlets to visit the country's Lugar Center, with only Georgian journalists able to enter.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday said that the Pentagon was running a secret biological weapons lab at the Lugar Center for Public Health and Research, located outside of Tbilisi. At a press conference on Friday, NCDC Director Amiran Gamkrelidze agreed to a request from a RIA Novosti correspondent to visit the laboratory, but the center later revised its opinion.
"I have repeatedly given interviews and comments to Russian media, but none of them published the information. I will not take part in this show, only Georgian journalists will be let into the laboratory, the decision is final. First, publish my comments refuting the absurd things claimed by Russia," Imnadze told RIA Novosti.
However, Russian media, including RIA Novosti, had already cited Imnadze in its published comments by Georgia.
The NCDC press service said that the video footage of the local journalists' visit to the lab would be made available to foreign media outlets.
In July, Imnadze invited his Russian colleagues to visit the lab and "refute the rumors that the center is allegedly producing chemical and biological weapons."
The Russian Defense Ministry's report was based on materials provided by former Georgian State Security Minister Igor Giorgadze. Maj. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the commander of the Russian Armed Forces' Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops, pointed to the atypical spread of infection-carrying insects around the Lugar Center and to the US-issued patent for a drone that could be used to spread such insects. Other patents suggested that the US researchers could be working on various poisonous or radioactive substances.
In addition, the Russian military said the Pentagon may have tested a lethal substance on unaware Georgian volunteers at the Lugar Center, leading to 73 deaths since 2015. The people who died participated is tests of a Hepatitis C drug produced by Gilead Sciences, a company once chaired by former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Georgia and the United States have both denied Russia's claims in comments to Sputnik. Georgia's government envoy for ties with Russia Zurab Abashidze called the allegations absurd, while US Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon said the center was owned and operated by Georgia's disease control center. Gamkrelidze refuted the claims on Friday as well.
