Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss purported US-backed biological weapons programs in Ukraine.Photo:VCG

 
China reiterated its concern and urged the relevant parties to make clarifications to dispel doubts over US biolabs in Ukraine, according to a conference held at the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Friday.

Nebenzia Vassily, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, told the council his delegation had new evidence that the US and Ukraine agreed to conduct biological weapons research on Ukrainian territory as early as 2005.

He said while the US continues to insist that it was not involved in any biological laboratory activities in Ukraine, "that has not been proven to be the case." He said that Ukrainian authorities had in effect allowed the US to conduct dangerous experiments in exchange for free access to international conferences.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative of the US to the UN, said this was "Russia's disinformation,'' adding that it ''is a sign of its desperation."

Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, said any evidence of biological military activities should be of great concern and importance to the international community, and relevant parties should respond to questions and make timely and comprehensive clarifications to dispel doubts.

China's position on the issue of weapons of mass destruction and biological security is consistent. China stands for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all weapons of mass destruction including biological and chemical weapons, firmly opposes the development, possession or use of the weapons by any country under any circumstances, and urges countries that have not destroyed their stockpiles of chemical weapons to do so as soon as possible, Zhang stressed.

Compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is an obligation of all parties. China calls for early negotiations on the establishment of a verification mechanism under the BWC, which will help improve global biosecurity.

China was once a victim of biological and chemical weapons, and the country believes that any information on biological military activities should be of great concern and importance to the international community so as to avoid irreparable harm by the activities, Zhang stressed.  

Citing the newly discovered documents released by Russia, Zhang urged relevant parties to take a responsible attitude towards this bio-military activity issue. 

"This is not an overclaim, and there should be no double standards on this issue," Zhang said.

Earlier this week, at Monday's routine news conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM), the spokesperson for the ministry rebutted US' inconsistent and flawed responses regarding its biological laboratories in Ukraine, urging a full clarification of its bio-military activities within and outside its borders.

"We can't help but ask: Did the US send teams to Ukraine or not? What exactly is the scope of their activities? How many collaborative facilities are there? What sensitive information in the field of public health is not allowed to be disclosed? Does Ukraine know what the US is doing in Ukraine?" Zhao Lijian, the FM spokesperson, asked.

At Friday's UN Security Council conference, China also stated that direct negotiations between parties concerned is the fundamental way to deal with the Ukraine crisis. China will continue to promote peace talks and hopes that all parties could do more to promote peace talks instead of adding fuel to the fire.