The Armenian government on Thursday approved the signing of a draft protocol under which Yerevan waives its obligation to hand over samples of dangerous pathogens to the United States in accordance with the 2010 cooperation agreement
YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 02nd June, 2022) The Armenian government on Thursday approved the signing of a draft protocol under which Yerevan waives its obligation to hand over samples of dangerous pathogens to the United States in accordance with the 2010 cooperation agreement.
"To approve the signing of a protocol to the 2010 agreement between the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the US Department of Defense on cooperation in preventing the spread of technologies, pathogens and knowledge that can be used to develop biological weapons… The proposed amendments will exclude the component on transferring samples of requested dangerous pathogens to the US side," a government decree read.
The protocol will take into account the forthcoming legislative amendments regulating biological security and, thus, exempt Armenia from the obligation to share pathogen samples with another countries. The document also highlights the need for the authorities to ensure a more balanced approach to international cooperation on biosafety.
Under the 2010 agreement, Yerevan pledged to transfer to the US Defense Department samples of the requested dangerous pathogens collected across Armenia for preventive, protective and other peaceful purposes, so that the parties could better identify, diagnose and control disease outbreaks in the country. The document also contained a provision for the sharing of epidemiological data.
In February, the Russian Defense Ministry discovered the existence of 30 US-funded military biological laboratories in Ukraine. According to Moscow, Washington has spent over $200 million to develop biological weapons in the facilities. Russia also said that the labs revealed in Ukraine constitute only a small part of a global network of over 300 similar facilities.
Following the scandal, the Armenian National Security Service circulated a statement in March urging the relevant authorities to inspect activities of 12 biolaboratories operating in the country and allegedly funded by the US.
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