General Yakovlev: “The CSTO intends to continue working to improve biosecurity measures.”

The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly notes the increased role of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) amid contemporary challenges in the sphere of biological security, including the possibility of using developments in biotechnology for purposes other than peaceful ones. In this connection, a joint session of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and 15th plenary session of the CSTO PA on December 5 in Moscow adopted a statement on the inadmissibility of developing biological (bacteriological) and toxin weapons.

 

“Ensuring biosecurity within the CSTO is undoubtedly relevant. The biosecurity threat is a novel threat which required an appropriate and adequate response from our Organization. In this regard, a decision was taken by the Committee of Secretaries of CSTO Security Councils to establish the CSTO Coordinating Council on Biosecurity. On December 15, 2022, its first meeting was held in St Petersburg, where Anna Popova, Head of Rospotrebnadzor, was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Coordinating Council,” said Lieutenant General Anatoly Yakovlev, Head of the Armed Forces Planning, Use and Training Coordination Department of the CSTO Joint Staff.

 

As you may recall, during the Russian presidency of the Collective Security Treaty Organization the necessary organizational and legal work on biosecurity was carried out on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And on November 23, 2022, at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Yerevan, it was decided to jointly establish radiation, chemical and biological protection and medical support.

 

“In effect, a structure has been created within the CSTO to ensure biological security of the CSTO Member States. In October 2022, this joint formation was deployed and tested in Kazakhstan as part of the Vzaimodeistvie 2022 joint exercise of the CSTO CRRF. There, for the first time, we practiced dealing with the consequences of a biological emergency, so that we understand what we must do in the event of a large-scale and rapid spread of dangerous infectious diseases. A new unit within the CSTO Collective Force – a joint radiation, chemical and biological protection and medical support unit – was involved in the training. In addition, the Kazakh government decided to involve civilian structures in this exercise – the Biological Security Research Institute of the Ministry of Health of the Republic,” General Yakovlev said.

 

The CSTO Joint Staff also reported on the planning of a special biosecurity exercise in the Republic of Belarus.

 

“Taking into account the experience of the joint exercises, we intend to constantly improve the structure and capabilities of this joint biological security formation,” concluded Anatoly Yakovlev.

 

For reference: Russia and Belarus signed a memorandum of understanding on biological security on January 19, 2023. It was signed during a joint meeting of the collegiums of the foreign ministries of the two countries by Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, and Sergei Aleinik, his Belarusian counterpart.