On 26 May, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the statements made by the Russian MFA in regard to the Lugar Center in Tbilisi.
“Any research or activity at the facilities of the Center are carried out by the relevant experts… under the coordination and management of the competent Georgian agencies. The American partners have no role in setting the tasks for the Center, moreover they do not possess the ability to conduct… independent research,” the Georgian MFA replied.
However, the Georgian MFA also stated that it would allow a renewed visit of Russian experts into the Center given the fact that Georgia is a Member State of the Convention on Prohibition of Biological Weapons. “It is noteworthy to mention that Georgia is open to hosting competent Russian experts, who holds the relevant level security permission to access the facilities of the laboratory. However, such visits [must] be conducted within the framework of the Convention and in full compliance with the existing mechanism. At the same time, Georgia does not see the possibility for a one-sided unilateral visit taking into account Russia's rough and aggressive disinformation campaign with the only possible aim to diminish the functioning and research at the facilities of the Lugar Centre. The Georgian side expresses its readiness to host the next peer exercise within the frame of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons with participation of a multinational team, including relevant Russian experts,” the statement concluded.
Two days later, the Russian MFA replied to Georgia’s invitation. The Russian MFA declared that it welcomes Georgia’s readiness to accept Russian experts to the laboratory. However, the statement notes that such a visit would only make sense if Russian experts are able to enter the building of all the laboratories, including those controlled by American specialists, and at the same time have access to all requested documentation. The Russian MFA also said that Georgia’s statements about disinformation coming from Russia were of a provocative nature and served to draw the attention of the international community to the military-biological activities carried out in the Lugar Center.
Before the Georgian MFA’s reply, the Russian MFA issued a statement expressing its concerns over the activities conducted in the Lugar Center. “The subject of our concern is that Washington does not explain what it is doing in the immediate vicinity of Russian borders,” the statement emphasized. The statement also said that the Lugar Center “carries out studies on the use of insects as carriers of especially dangerous biological agents and pathogens of infections.” (Caucasus Watch reported).
