On September 5, 2022, in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, the Official Consultative Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons (BTWC) started its primary work, being convened pursuant to Article 5 of the Convention upon the russian federation`s request in connection with the allegations raised by it about creation of biological weapons by Ukraine with the U.S. assistance in the territory of our country.
The official Delegation of Ukraine headed by Yurii Klymenko, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is taking part in the event. The Delegation comprises Mr. Ihor Kuzin, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine – the Chief State Sanitary Doctor, the representatives of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Mechnikov Anti-Plague Institute, the Reference-Laboratory for diagnostics of HIV/AIDs, viruses and EDP of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the L. Medved Scientific Center of Preventive Toxicology, Food and Chemical Safety of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the National Scientific Center “Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine†of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.
The Head of the Delegation of Ukraine emphasized the manipulative nature of russian insinuations addressed to our country and the U.S., which purpose is to explain the unprovoked and unjustified full-scale war of aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, to divert attention of the States-Parties to the Convention from numerous war crimes committed against the people of Ukraine, as well as to conceal the activities of russia circumventing the provisions of the BTWC.
The Ukrainian side assured that Ukraine strictly adheres to its own international obligations under the Convention, never intended to produce and does not produce biological weapons alone or in cooperation with any other State Party. The existing in Ukraine institutions and facilities of medical and biological profile are being used only for the sake of public health and veterinary protection.
The Delegation emphasized the exclusively peaceful nature of the respective Ukrainian-American institutionalized cooperation, aimed at strengthening the capabilities of medical and biological facilities in Ukraine to prevent and counteract the outbreaks of infectious diseases, as well as to provide necessary aid to the citizens of our country.
The Ukrainian side called upon the BTWC’s States Parties to increase the pressure on russia in order to make it immediately stop its criminal war against Ukraine, to take effective measures to prevent abuse of the Convention`s provisions and to elaborate viable mechanisms to ensure that such manipulative actions of russia should not be repeated in the future.
Ukraine has become a co-author of the U.S.-initiated Joint Statement "The Contribution of Cooperative Threat Reduction Partnerships to Global Health Security."
The document, in particular, emphasizes a critical role of international cooperation and assistance in building strong national capacities for infectious disease, alike COVID-19, surveillance, diagnosis and response.
