The UN Security Council is meeting urgently this Friday at 4 p.m. GMT on the alleged manufacture of biological weapons in Ukraine, at the request of Moscow.
Russia accuses Ukraine of having tried to erase the evidence of the existence of military biological programs financed by the Pentagon.
Le Figaro
takes stock of this new imbroglio at the heart of the war.
To discover
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What are the Russian charges?
On Wednesday March 9, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on the United States to reveal information about what she called its "
illegal activities
" in Ukraine.
She said Russia had documents proving that the Ukrainian Ministry of Health had ordered the destruction of samples of plague, cholera, anthrax and other pathogens on February 24, when Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory.
Maria Zakharova considered that these documents, discovered by the Russian army in Ukraine, demonstrated “
an urgent attempt to erase the evidence of military biological programs
” financed by the Pentagon.
Read alsoWars: the disturbing return of chemical weapons
"
It can be concluded that components of biological weapons were being developed in Ukrainian laboratories located in the immediate vicinity of our border
," the spokeswoman said.
According to her, "
the emergency destruction of dangerous pathogens on February 24 was a necessary step aimed at covering up the fact that Ukraine and the United States violated Article 1 of the Biological Weapons Convention
".
However, no details were provided on the said documents.
Russia's Defense Ministry reiterated those accusations on Thursday, saying the United States funded a biological weapons program in Ukraine.
"
The goal of this Pentagon-funded biological research in Ukraine was to create a mechanism for the stealthy spread of deadly pathogens
," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in his morning briefing on the conflict in Ukraine.
The United States and Ukraine formally deny
Hours after Moscow's accusations, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the allegations "
absurd
" in a series of posts on Twitter.
“
The United States fully respects its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention, and does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere
,” she said, denouncing a campaign of “
disinformation
”.
In return, Jen Psaki accused Russia of having "
a long experience in the use of chemical weapons, including in the assassination attempts of Putin's political enemies, such as Alexei Navalny
".
“
It is Russia that continues to support the Assad regime in Syria, which has repeatedly used chemical weapons.
It is Russia that has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law
,” she said.
According to the press secretary, these accusations are part of an "
obvious ploy to try to justify
" his attack on Ukraine.
State Department spokesman Ned Price called it "
classic Russian propaganda
."
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In an address to the nation on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also denied any chemical weapons development by his country.
“
I am the president of a decent country, of a decent people, and I am the father of two children.
No one is developing any chemical or mass destruction weapons on my territory
,” he said.
China gets involved
Faced with the emerging controversy, China has also joined in the fight.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has thus declared that “
the United States has 336 laboratories in 30 countries under its control, including 26 in Ukraine alone
”.
He also called on Washington to "
fully account for their biological military activities at home and abroad and submit to multilateral verification
."
In response, Jean Psaki accused China of “
relaying
Russian propaganda”.
Ukraine has 'biological research facilities'
During a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday March 8, the Under-Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Victoria Nuland, argued that “
Ukraine has biological research facilities
”.
"
We are actually now quite worried about the possibility of Russian forces trying to take control of
it," she said, noting that the United States "
is working with the Ukrainians on ways to avoid that these research-related materials could fall into the hands of Russian forces if they were to approach them
”.
Read alsoHow far will Vladimir Putin go?
Senator Marco Rubio then questioned Victoria Nuland: “
If there was an incident or an attack involving a biological or chemical weapon in Ukraine, would it be 100% clear to you that the Russians were the perpetrators?
".
Categorical response from the diplomat: “
There is no doubt in my mind
”.
What does the Biological Weapons Convention say?
The Biological Weapons Convention is the first multilateral disarmament treaty to ban an entire category of weapons.
It entered into force on March 26, 1975, after 22 States deposited their instruments of ratification.
Currently, it has 180 States Parties, which have pledged not to develop, produce, stockpile or use biological weapons.
Both Russia and Ukraine are among the signatories.
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Article 1 of this Convention provides that "
each State undertakes never, and under no circumstances, to develop, manufacture, stockpile, acquire in any way or retain: 1) agents microbiological or other biological agents, as well as toxins regardless of their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities which are not intended for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;
(2) weapons, equipment or means of delivery intended for the use of such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict
”.
The weakness of this Convention is that it does not prohibit biological weapons as such, but the purpose for which they are developed and used.
It also does not provide for any regime for verifying compliance with its provisions.
