Georgian analysts treat Russian's statements on bio laboratories as threat

By stating that US biologists are developing biological weapons in Georgia, Moscow is trying to put pressure not on Washington, but on Tbilisi, analysts assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 24, Russian militaries launched their special operation in Ukraine, after which Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia. On February 25, Georgia announced that it would not join them; and Irakli Garibashvili, the Prime Minister, explained that supporting the anti-Russian sanctions would harm local winemakers and farmers; and tourism would suffer. On April 1, Salome Zurabishvili, the Georgian President, stated that she supported sanctions against Russia, but on April 4 she again announced her refusal to join them.

Kakha Gogolashvili, an analyst at the Georgian Fund for Strategic and International Studies, believes that by stating that US biologists are engaged in bio developments in Georgia, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is trying to influence the Georgia's political course. "Maybe Russia is once again scaring Georgia so that it doesn't join the sanctions and doesn't help Ukraine," he has explained.

Valery Chechelashvili, an analyst at the above Fund, has stated that the work of Georgian laboratories is regularly inspected within the framework of international conventions.

"Georgia has repeatedly offered Russian experts to take part in inspecting our labs, but they put forward the condition – to gain access to the labs in a separate mode, not within collective inspections. Such mode is not provided for by the Georgia's international obligations," Mr Chechelashvili has explained.