Lynn Tracy: Armenia, as a sovereign state, can itself manage any  activities related to bio-laboratories

ArmInfo. The USA is proud of the level of relations with Armenia in the field of safety of biological laboratories that has existed since 2008. The US  Ambassador to Armenia Lynn Tracy said this in an interview with  Civilnet, referring to the issue of providing Russian authorities  with access to Russian specialists in the bio-laboratory.

At the same time, the diplomat noted that these biological  laboratories are Armenian, and are managed by Armenian specialists  and are managed by the Armenian authorities. "We have worked very  transparently in the issue of cooperation in this area. Armenia, as a  sovereign state, sovereign government, can itself manage any activity  related to these bio-laboratories," the diplomat concluded.

It should be noted that Moscow and Yerevan began work on the  corresponding document last summer. It has now been completed and is  awaiting coordination at the interdepartmental level in the two  countries, as announced by the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and  Russia on November 11 in Yerevan.

Recall that in 2016, with the funding of the US Department of  Defense, three laboratories were opened in Armenia - in Yerevan,  Gyumri and Ijevan. After their discovery in the Armenian and Russian  media, publications periodically receive widespread publicity that  these laboratories are dual-use facilities and can be used for  military purposes to create and manufacture biological weapons. The  US Department of Defense allocated $ 15.5 million for the creation of  a reference laboratory in Yerevan, and the total funding amounted to  $ 18 million.

In Yerevan, for the full construction of the reference laboratory of  the food safety department for especially dangerous pathogens of the  Ministry of Agriculture, $ 4.1 million was invested, and the US  government invested $ 9.8 million for the repair of the reference  laboratory of the "National Center for Disease Control and  Prevention" of the Ministry of Health of Armenia ., ensuring the  seismic stability of the building and creating the necessary  laboratory infrastructure. An additional $ 1.7 million for both  laboratories was allocated for the purchase of new equipment and  furniture.