Right of Reply to the Russian Federation on U.S. Biological Dual-Purpose Laboratories in Georgia and Ukraine
As delivered by Ambassador James S. Gilmore III
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
June 11, 2020
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
The United States thinks it’s regrettable that Russia would come forward with this kind of disinformation. We’ve discussed this before. We know that the effort is being made in conjunction with Ukraine and Georgia to try to identify some of these terrible diseases that are emerging, and to create some opportunity for peaceful research and vaccine development. We congratulate Georgia and Ukraine, not only on their statements today, but also on their advancement of science and working to try and create a safer and better world. The suggestion that there is somehow something mysterious going on in Ukraine and Georgia, or anywhere else for that matter, is, frankly, weird. And I think that this kind of message would not be accepted by the people of Russia, who today are suffering just like everyone else under the coronavirus. Any advancement that can be made against this or against any future pandemic, would not just benefit everyone else in the world, but the Russian people too, and that’s the future we should be reaching for.
Thank you very much, Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
###
