Putin calls for strengthening mechanisms to prevent proliferation of biological weapons

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for strengthening mechanisms to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons, stressing the importance of putting a stop to violations of the Biological Weapons Convention.

In his opening remarks at the two-day 4th International Conference on Global Threats to Biological Security in the resort city of Sochi, Putin said it is necessary to stop violation of the Biological Weapons Convention in the very first step.

"Recently, the principles approved by this fundamental document have been systematically violated. Moreover, useful initiatives to strengthen the relevant non-proliferation regime are often opposed by a number of states seeking to use existing international problems to ensure their own biological security at the expense of others," he said.

Russia advocates strengthening supranational mechanisms to prevent the development and proliferation of biological and toxin weapons, citing the fact that international cooperation for these purposes should be carried out on an equal basis, with indispensable respect for the sovereignty of all states, he stressed.

It is equally important to increase the collective efforts of the world community in the fight against epidemics, he noted, reiterating Russia's readiness to continue to take an active part in eliminating outbreaks of dangerous infections in various parts of the world.