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• The Foreign Ministers of the Associated Trio have met with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for an Economy

  The Foreign Minister of the Associated Trio – Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine met with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for an Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis.

  During the meeting the parties discussed the significance of the establishment of the Associated Trio and its future goals, namely in terms of European Integration and coordinating in terms of common goals, by developing cooperation with the EU, including in terms of establishing sectoral dialogue on economic and trade issues.

  MFA Georgia

• Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have established the "Associated Trio"

  Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have established the "Associated Trio". David Zalkaliani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, publishes information about this on his Facebook page. "The common goal of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine is to unite and become a full member of the European Union /EU/," - the minister said.

  The appropriate memorandum was signed in Kiev during a meeting of foreign ministers of said three states.

  The final goal of the Associated Trio is accession into the EU.
• The Ukrainian PM, Denys Shmyhal, to visit Georgia

  The Ukrainian PM, Denys Shmyhal, to visit Georgia, stated the Ukrainian PM during a meeting with the Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Zalkaliani, where he reconfirmed the strategic partnership between Georgia and Ukraine, along with the joint efforts exerted in terms of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

  The Georgian Vice PM reconfirmed concern of the Georgian side regarding the escalation of processes along Ukraine’s border and in Crimea, reconfirming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

  The parties welcomed the signing of the memorandum between the three associated states concerning issues of European integration, expressing readiness to support the convergence of economies and sectoral integration between said states.

  During the meeting the parties also discussed prospects of more active and deeper cooperation in various fields, noting with satisfaction, that Ukraine remains among the top trading partners for Georgia. The positive practices of the management of the intergovernmental economic commission was were also discussed.

  The parties also underscored the necessity of tight cooperation between Georgia and Ukraine, in order to maximise benefits from the existing opportunities with the EU including in terms of the DCFTA.

  The positive dynamics in terms of cooperation in the tourism industry was also noted as satisfactory. The immense potential in the transport sector was also discussed outlining the potential of the Black Sea and necessity for further active cooperation.

  During the meeting the parties also touched upon the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, with both parties welcoming the efforts exerted on behalf of Tbilisi and Kiev in order to receive appropriate recognition during the upcoming NATO summit. The Ukrainian PM noted with satisfaction over the existing high levels of communication and cooperation with his Georgian colleague, Irakli Gharibashvili.

  The importance of joint communication with the EU on behalf of the “Eastern Partnership Initiative” member-states over the issue of egalitarian distribution of vaccines was also underscored during the meeting by both parties.
• On the issue of US military biolaboratories: Who will be the victims of Americans on Armenian soil?

  Foreign media about coronavirus, On the issue of US military biolaboratories: Who will be the victims of Americans on Armenian soil?

  Author: Sergey Shakariants

  The problem of Americans opening military biolabs in post-Soviet countries has probably been known since at least 2013-14. Besides, we are talking not only about the CIS member states, but also about Ukraine and Georgia, which left the CIS a long time ago.

  The US Central Reference Laboratories (CRLs), to which smaller zonal stations are added, have been operating in Ukraine since 2010, in Georgia since 2011, and in Kazakhstan since 2015. Canada tried to create a CRL in Kyrgyzstan. Here we explain: Reference laboratories are set up by national health authorities to diagnose particularly dangerous infections and prevent their spread. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are also involved in separate cooperation programs with the United States.

  Naturally, the US states that the operation of these facilities is for civil purposes only. All facilities are funded by the US Department of Defense. At the same time, their value is significantly higher than the usual costs incurred by such civil agencies. So there is every reason to think that there might be expensive dual-purpose devices out there. Number of employees - from 50 to 250 people significantly exceeds the number of staff required for the service of civil automated laboratories with declared goals.

  The system of laboratory complexes located on the perimeter of the borders of Russia, China and Iran will potentially allow the Pentagon to solve many tasks. For example, the ability to gather information on territorial microorganisms to develop a new generation of highly effective offensive biological weapons against the People's Republic of China, Iran and Russia.

  Since 2016, the Armenian public has also sounded the alarm. The fact is that in a short period of time, from April 6, 2016 (!) To July 13-14 of the same year, in this small republic, the Americans opened three reference laboratories with funding from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). First in Ijevan, in the center of the Taush (border) region, then in the capital Yerevan, in the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Armenia, and finally in Gyumri, called the "Center for Disease Control and Prevention". It should also be noted that for the current 2017 year, the Americans and their supporters in Armenia plan to open similar centers in the Lori, Gegarkunix and Syunik regions, which will be connected to the Central Yerevan laboratory. In short, the US has decided to have and control six (!!!) military bio-laboratories in Armenia only.

  On July 13, 2016, with the help of the US Threat Reduction Agency, another reference laboratory was opened in the Avan district of Yerevan. The opening was attended by DTRA Division Director Elizabeth George. According to Dr. Elizabeth George, $ 4.1 million has been invested in the complete construction of the Particularly Dangerous Pathogens Reference Laboratory of the Food Safety Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia. The US government has spent $ 9.8 million to renovate the reference laboratory of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Armenia. An additional 1.7 million. Dollars were issued to purchase equipment and furniture. One day later, on July 14, 2016, in Gyumri, Shirak Marz, the opening ceremony of the Shirak Regional Laboratory - National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Armenia was held with the participation of Elizabeth George, Director of DTRA Division and local government representatives. The U.S. government has spent $2.7 million on renovations to the Gyumri laboratory, with an additional $340,000 to purchase furniture and appliances. Why does the US have such an insistent interest in Armenia in terms of its program to build military bio-facilities? One of the answers can be seen on the surface: during the Soviet period, Armenia was deservedly considered one of the leaders of the Soviet microbiological science. The many strains that are kept here are truly unique.

  An additional suspicion is that the laboratories operate in a closed mode, are staffed by foreign military personnel and representatives of the local health sector often do not have direct access to them. Either military personnel loyal to Washington or special services representatives are being appointed as leaders. Given the "specificity" of the appointment of law enforcement officials in Armenia, which has been in place since 2016, any researcher can expect that the law enforcement agencies of the republic, including the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, will deliberately turn a blind eye to any activities of US laboratories. Even the actions of the staff of these biolaboratories objectively pose a direct threat to the security of Armenia and the health of its own population. However, even if the Americans do not "conduct experiments" on Armenians - The list of threats is still extensive for Armenian citizens. Overseas laboratory complexes as a whole provide an opportunity for U.S. military specialists to test the results of their biological research in areas close to potential adversaries (e.g., to investigate the virulence, pathways, and other properties of dangerous pathogens). If nothing else, Americans are also experimenting with infecting the population with mild diseases in their own country. We have reason to assume that they can not refrain from field approbation of new ideas in this field in post-Soviet countries, or - in their neighboring countries. For Armenia, it is, first of all, Iran. After all, Americans in Georgia and Azerbaijan have "local" reference laboratories. The situation allows the US to bypass any legal restrictions. Overseas medical centers allow the U.S. military to conduct biological manipulations beyond the borders of the national territory, thus avoiding public outcry and the consequences of violating U.S. law, without, of course, access to foreign inspections. So the results of Soviet military-biological programs are becoming available to Americans. I think it is unnecessary to ask - why. Understandably, not for peaceful purposes or with the desire to "fight the growing threat of bioterrorism".

  Aik Aivazian, head of the "Lui" (Yerevan) Information-Analytical Center, repeatedly pointed out in 2016-2017 that US military biolaboratories in Armenia have a dual, sometimes even triple purpose, given the amount of funding and the fact that Americans plan to have six such facilities in a limited, yet high seismic hazard area. Aik Aivazian and Public Club "People's Voice" expert Arman Gukasyan have repeatedly stressed that they might not worry about receiving outstanding "American assistance" to Armenia in such a difficult and delicate area as the selfless care of the current US ruling elite for the development and well-being of the 3 million citizens of Armenia, most of the listed threats are considered fictitious, but such a position is hindered by numerous "buts"! To begin with, the influential American NGO Political Project "New American Century" (operating in Washington from 1997 to 2006. Influenced by the ideology and military policy of the George W. Bush administration) in 2000 program documents indicated that improved species of biological weapons Having the ability to influence a particular genotype, they can shift bio-weapons from the realm of terror to the realm of useful political tools.

  In addition to the above, there are many other strange "peculiarities" in Armenia. On April 26, 2017, following a series of media publications, in response to a question from news.am, the US Embassy in Armenia commented on a publication about reference laboratories opened in the country with funding from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency. In its comments, the US Embassy did not provide any evidence that denied the dual purpose of these laboratories. The so-called "denial" contained only two videos of reference labs commissioned by the Americans themselves. As claimed by A. Aivazian and A. Gukasyan this year, their own analysis of the possible goals of the existence of US Pentagon reference laboratories in Armenia was conducted. The US Department of Defense has allocated about $15.5 million to set up a reference laboratory in Yerevan, $18 million in total.

  It is unclear who is giving - in this case, who is guaranteeing the security of the three already existing and six US bio-military facilities in perspective. Leaks of deadly diseases from American laboratories have been repeatedly reported in the United States itself. Let's remember the case of sending Siberian ulcer to the U.S. in 2001, or the leak of Siberian ulcer and bird flu samples from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (DiseaseControlandPrevention, CDC). Who will the US blame if all of a sudden, dangerous pathogens "accidentally" leak from Armenian laboratories? The guard, the lab worker who "forgot" to close the tube tightly or someone else?

  All this is not exaggerated in the slightest - no one should be accused of any kind of prejudice against its goals in the field of biolaboratories in the territory of the US and the former USSR. The generosity which the US sponsors biolabs in Armenia with is tense - and this is still mentioned very lightly. Of course, representatives of the US Embassy, as well as the above-mentioned Armenian and US agencies, have repeatedly stated that the activities of the laboratories "have nothing to do with geopolitical problems". As stated by the representatives of the Ministry of Health at the end of last year, Armenia is located in a region where "there is a high migration and a high probability that diseases will enter the republic". In accordance with its international obligations, Armenia must detect and respond to these threats in a timely manner, stopping their spread inside and outside the country. Laboratories are of a research nature and are committed to resolving this issue. The Armenian side also notes that "the laboratory will not have a dual purpose because the country has committed itself to reducing the risks of biological weapons proliferation". Similar comments were made by the US Embassy in Yerevan in late April. He said that they are proud of cooperating with the Government of Armenia and providing assistance to the citizens of the country, guaranteeing the health of agricultural animals, financing the repair and construction of modern laboratories. This strengthens the government's ability to publicly monitor potential health threats to humans and farm animals and to prevent dangerous disease epidemics.

  But why are there no serious reactions - neither in Armenia nor in other republics? The fact is that the assessments of experts on the danger of these facilities are still quite measured, which they explain by the lack of complete information. According to Babkena Pipoyan (Yerevan), the head of the non-governmental organization "Informed and Protected User", in theory, the existence of reference laboratories on the territory of Armenia may lead to various problems and dangers. "We understand that the laboratory is not a hidden object. And the risks, if any, are known to the special services, the Armenian government and Russia, as a strategic partner of Armenia. Of course, Russia does not like the establishment of laboratories by the United States in Armenia, but I think the Armenian side made appropriate arguments when discussing the issue with its Russian colleagues", Pipoyan said. But he seems to be ignoring the fact that the construction of reference laboratories involves the transfer of all those strains stored in the collection of viruses to American side. All of these laboratories are operated solely by the U.S. Department of Defense. The construction of laboratories as part of biohazard management projects will enable the United States to fully control the biological condition of both the relevant post-Soviet countries and the territories of its transboundary neighbors. Every virologist knows the rule: there is only one step from studying a bacterium to creating a bacteriological weapon. At the same time, US-created biolaboratories are out of the control of the governments of the countries in which they are located. Laboratories operate in closed mode. Laboratory staff, made up exclusively of Americans, have diplomatic immunity, and local civil health officials do not have direct access to these facilities. The number of laboratory workers ranges from 50 to 250, which is significantly more than the number of staff required to service automated civilian laboratories with declared purposes. To cite the Indonesian example of 2010, the expulsion of such an American biolaboratory is unfortunately an unfulfilled dream for ordinary citizens of Armenia, as the current government knows what is happening in the world, specifically around Armenia, Artsakh,but still in 2013-2017, the US The policy goes directly to aid. The Armenian government either does not really know or does not seem to have heard the statement of Jeffrey Silverman, a former adviser to Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, in an interview with "Georgia and the World": Bypassing US Laboratories for the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons Creates order. "Lugar Laboratory is located next to the airport. It will not take long to load the bomb or transfer the viruses from there to other facilities," he said, referring to the functions and tasks of the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research in Georgia. I'll remind you that the Americans spent $300 million to create this laboratory. But a number of data from Armenia show that in recent years the government of the Republic has been supporting the United States in this, at least, strange activity. Year 2010 - Agreement with the Pentagon on cooperation in the field of technology for the production of biological weapons, the spread of pathogens and the prevention of testing, in the framework of the "Reduction of Biological Threats" program. The US Embassy in Armenia has established an Office to Support the Implementation of the Biological Threat Reduction Program. The company Black & Veatch has been involved in the implementation of DTRA programs since 2011, the CWEP program is operating. ISTC (USA) opened its branches in Yerevan, provided financial assistance for the material and technical support of several dozen projects.

  In 2015, the Pentagon provided the Armenian Border Service with a device to control the circulation of weapons of mass destruction. The Armenian Ministries of Emergency Situations, Health and Agriculture have received the necessary special facilities from the US in case of a pandemic. The officials of these agencies were trained on American standards for the detection, diagnosis and prevention of dangerous infectious diseases of natural and man-made origin. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched its EpiInfo software at the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Armenia. What would you say, "Everything is fine, beautiful Marquise?" No and no. According to materials of press conference held by the Public Club "People's Voice" in mid-June 2017 in Yerevan, "after the statement of the representative of the US Embassy, where he said that the activities of the given laboratories are open to the general public, the members of the public club decided to visit the mentioned laboratories and get acquainted with their activities on the spot. Activists wondered why the Pentagon funded the laboratory, why there was no agreement between the Armenian and US military agencies, why the laboratories were located in densely populated areas, and next to kindergartens and squares? Unfortunately, as experts say, the visit to the laboratory's main office did not answer any of the questions raised, which further aggravates the suspicion". As it turns out, the experts of "People's Voice" did not even enter the laboratories - they were limited to admission to the technical office.

  This confirmed that the Americans are not going to report to anyone in Armenia on what US citizens are doing in the military biolaboratories in Yerevan, Gyumri and Ijevan. As the head of "People's Voice" A. Gukasyan states that he's planning to send a letter to the Organization US Ambassador R. Mills containing "specific questions and requests". "Studying the experience of neighboring Georgia, we see that money was spent on the construction of similar laboratories, which is several times more than the amount needed to finance such civil facilities." - Says the representative of the club Tsovinar Kostanian. In his view, you can't doubt this fact, because there is a danger that pathogens stored in these laboratories may in the future be used to create biological weapons that will be developed based on the genotype and biological characteristics of a given nation or region. "It is inadmissible for such important facilities to be under the control and expense of a foreign state. The Pentagon has already spent $18 million on setting up similar laboratories in Armenia. We are sure that if the laboratories are funded by the military, the set tasks will be completely military", he said. The Pentagon has spent more than $1 billion in recent years building 400 biolabs around the world. As a result of cooperation with the US, the less affluent countries of the former USSR, instead of actually preventing the spread of dangerous viruses, have adopted closed agencies in their territories that are not accountable to the government. Given the above, we have every reason to believe that US military-biological activity in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, CIS countries and other post-Soviet space countries, including Armenia, poses a threat to their national interests and the health and safety of the population. Not to mention that this threat will increase if the US decides to launch a bio-military strike on Russia, China and Iran from their territory.The reaction of these countries cannot be apriori predictable. And if so, joint precautionary measures are needed.

  Printed from the newspaper "Erkramas": http//yerkramas.org

• The United States has acknowledged the existence of secret biological laboratories in Ukraine

  Foreign media about coronavirus, The United States has acknowledged the existence of secret biological laboratories in Ukraine

  Maxim Makarichev

  The US Embassy in Ukraine has officially acknowledged for the first time the existence of American biological laboratories in the country that are conducting tests on viruses. Such was the reaction of diplomats to the statement of MPs Renat Kuzmin and Viktor Medvedchuk of the Verkhovna Rada "Opposition Platform for Life" on April 14. The lawmakers sent a request to Vladimir Zelensky to confirm the deployment of at least 15 American biological laboratories in Ukraine, which are supervised by the US Department of Defense, according to the publication "Country".

  The three-page appeal included a request to justify the existence of such laboratories, which operate in complete isolation from the public and are controlled by the Pentagon.

  In the appeal, the authors argue that during the work of American laboratories in Ukraine from time to time there were outbreaks of unknown and various diseases that caused lethal consequences. According to the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, virus strains were periodically leaked from laboratories at that time for one reason or another.

  What specific lethal consequences are we talking about? The document states that as early as 11 years ago, a virus of unknown origin appeared in Ternopil, causing hemorrhagic pneumonia: 450 Ukrainians died. Cholera broke out in Ukraine in 2011 - 33 people died. In 2014, 800 Ukrainians became infected with cholera. In January 2016, 20 soldiers died of the flu-like virus in Kharkov, and 200 people were taken to hospital. Two months later, 364 fatalities were reported in the country. According to MPs, the cause of all deaths was swine flu with the same flu strain that caused the 2009 global pandemic.

  The appeal states that the laboratory began operations in August 2005, during Yushchenko's presidency, was discontinued during Yanukovych's term, and resumed during Poroshenko's presidency. The idea of the need to activate the activities of such laboratories on the territory of Ukraine was actively lobbied by the Minister of Health of Ukraine in 2016-2019 Uliana Suprun. Deputies also named a completely astronomical sum - $ 2.1 billion, which was allocated by Washington for "biological experiments" around the world. This amount was spent on the accounts of the American "Threat Reduction Agency", which in turn allocates funds for the project in Ukraine.

  This activity was also joined by the "Scientific-Technical Center in Ukraine" - an international scientific-industrial association established in 1993. The center is funded by the US government and its staff have diplomatic immunity, which is considered an exception in the practice of international law. "This organization is financing projects to create weapons of mass destruction," wrote members of the Verkhovna Rada. In addition to Ukraine and the United States, the organization includes the European Union, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Uzbekistan.

  The Zelensky administration ignored this demand, and the Americans preferred to attend: they tried to convince the Ukrainian public that the work of the laboratory was carried out solely for scientific purposes and was of a peaceful nature. At the same time, the embassy did not forget to start searching for the "Moscow hand" again and said that the information in the appeal was "Russian disinformation".

  "Our joint efforts are helping to ensure that dangerous pathogens do not fall into foreign hands. We are proud to work with the Ministry of Health, the State Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service of Ukraine, the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences and the Ministry of Defense," the US diplomats said. Not a word is said that the project is under the full patronage of the Pentagon. As "Country" notes, the United States has more than 400 bacteriological laboratories worldwide. 15 of them are in Ukraine. Three are located in Lviv and near Kiev, the rest in Odessa, Vinnytsia, Uzhgorod, Kherson, Ternopil, as well as in the Kiev-controlled areas directly near Crimea and Lugansk. Some of them received between $ 1 million and $ 2 million for the tests. Journalists of the edition managed to gain access to the archives of the State Department website and find out the details of the agreement reached between Ukraine and the United States, which was signed on August 29, 2005. The agreement was signed by the US Department of Defense and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Under the agreement, Kiev undertook to send copies of dangerous pathogens to the Pentagon, which would be obtained as a result of research in Ukrainian laboratories. At the same time, the Ukrainian side should have kept the secret regime and in no case disclosed its activities, did not answer any questions from politicians and the public.

  Finally, labs were required to "minimize the number of people working with restricted access information." According to Odessa journalist Yuri Tkachev, these studies can be called dual-purpose studies: on the one hand, they are really important in terms of assessing the risk of spreading this or that disease and developing recommendations to combat it. "On the other hand, the results of the research may be used to create bacteriological weapons for use in this or that region," Tkachev said.

  We would like to remind you that in 2018, the former Minister of State Security of Georgia Igor Giorgadze presented a series of documentary materials on the activities of the American Lugar Laboratory in Georgia, which gained scandalous popularity, at a press conference in Moscow. The center was named in honor of the famous Russophobe, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, who died last year. Giorgadze noted that the facility was fully funded by the United States, and Georgia's property rights were only a cover. This secret unit was supervised by the Pentagon with the support of the then President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.  The laboratory was located near the Georgian settlement of Alekseevka near Tbilisi, ostensibly to fight the hepatitis C epidemic in those areas. Rumors of experiments on humans and mysterious deaths of locals in the American laboratory have been circulating since 2010. Giorgadze presented to the public a series of confidential materials on the activities of the laboratory, which confirm the "unreasonable mortality" of the local population. The population was allegedly injected with drugs - "Harvol" and "Sovaldi", which were produced by the American company "Gileod". Ex-minister sources managed to obtain documents confirming the deaths of 181 people during the vaccine test. However, 20 of the dead were buried without any dissection and conclusion of forensic medical experts. Igor Kirilov, the commander of the Army of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces of the Russian Federation, said at the time that the center had tested a toxic chemical drug for the local population in the treatment of hepatitis C. Giorgadze addressed President Trump, a 108 Western human rights and humanitarian organization. No response was received from any of the instances.

  Printed from the website: https://rg.ru/2020/04/24/ssha-priznali-nalichie-na-ukraine-sekretnyh-biologicheskih-laboratorij.html