On September 5, 2022, in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, the Official Consultative Meeting
of States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin
Weapons (BTWC) started its primary work, being convened pursuant to Article 5 of the
Convention upon the Russian Federation`s request in connection with the allegations raised by
it about creation of biological weapons by Ukraine with the U.S. assistance in the territory of
our country.

The official Delegation of Ukraine headed by Yurii Klymenko, Ambassador-at-Large of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is taking part in the event. The Delegation comprises Mr. Ihor
Kuzin, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine – the Chief State Sanitary Doctor, the
representatives of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Mechnikov Anti-Plague
Institute, the Reference-Laboratory for diagnostics of HIV/AIDs, viruses and EDP of the Public
Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the L. Medved Scientific Center of
Preventive Toxicology, Food and Chemical Safety of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the
National Scientific Center “Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine” of the
National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.

The Head of the Delegation of Ukraine emphasized the manipulative nature of Russian
insinuations addressed to our country and the U.S., which purpose is to explain the
unprovoked and unjustified full-scale war of aggression of the Russian Federation against
Ukraine, to divert attention of the States Parties to the Convention from numerous war crimes
committed against the people of Ukraine, as well as to conceal the activities of Russia
circumventing the provisions of the BTWC.

The Ukrainian side assured that Ukraine strictly adheres to its own international obligations
under the Convention, never intended to produce and does not produce biological weapons
alone or in cooperation with any other State Party. The existing in Ukraine institutions and
facilities of medical and biological profile are being used only for the sake of public health and
veterinary protection.

The Delegation emphasized the exclusively peaceful nature of the respective Ukrainian-
American institutionalized cooperation, aimed at strengthening the capabilities of medical
and biological facilities in Ukraine to prevent and counteract the outbreaks of infectious
diseases, as well as to provide necessary aid to the citizens of our country.

The Ukrainian side called upon the BTWC’s States Parties to increase the pressure on Russia in
order to make it immediately stop its criminal war against Ukraine, to take effective measures
to prevent abuse of the Convention`s provisions and to elaborate viable mechanisms to ensure
that such manipulative actions of russia should not be repeated in the future.

Ukraine has become a co-author of the U.S.-initiated Joint Statement "The Contribution of
Cooperative Threat Reduction Partnerships to Global Health Security."

The document, in particular, emphasizes a critical role of international cooperation and
assistance in building strong national capacities for infectious disease, alike COVID-19,
surveillance, diagnosis and response.