MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Russia's Federation Council approved the final report of a parliamentary investigative commission on operations of U.S. biological laboratories in Ukraine at a meeting on Wednesday.
"The main conclusion is that the United States maintains and develops its ability to create biological weapon components in order to make such weapons and to use them outside of the national territory if necessary. This means that U.S. military biological programs carried out in the territories of third countries constitute a direct threat to the security of Russia and other countries." Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachyov said, as he presented the report at the meeting.
"Seeking to explore new biological opportunities with the obvious dual and therefore military purpose, the United States has opened about 400 biological laboratories abroad. A significant number of them is located close to the Russian borders, first and foremost in the Ukrainian territory," the commission said.
The commission concluded that U.S. actions in the field of global biological security breach fundamental provisions of the Biological Weapons Convention, Kosachyov said.
The commission has drafted a number of proposals to boost Russia's biosecurity, including expedited reduction of Russia's technological dependence on foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers, intensified studies of current and prospective scientific and technological achievements, and broader cooperation with partners and allies in the provision of global biological security, he said.
The United States has dismissed Russia's claims of the U.S. development of biological weapons.