Azerbaijan Denies Hosting Foreign-Funded Bioweapons Research Labs, Security Service Says

BAKU (Sputnik) - Allegations that Azerbaijan has active biological weapon laboratories funded by the United States and its allies are false, the Azerbaijani State Security Service said on Saturday.

"Such scientific centers have never operated in Azerbaijan, and no research has been conducted that could harm the health of the population or citizens of neighboring countries", the Azerbaijani security service said in a press release.

The statement noted that Russian officials have recently frequented voicing "certain opinions" alleging the presence of foreign-funded military biological research centers in Azerbaijan, adding that this raises "certain concerns" among the Azerbaijani population.

"Given our partnership relations [with Russia], we express our readiness to investigate specific facts on this issue if the other side provides them", the statement read.

On 27 April, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev held a meeting with the heads of Russia's southern regions, where he warned that the Russian territories lying in close proximity to the borders of former Soviet republics may potentially be targeted by biological weapons produced in the foreign-funded military labs in their territories. He listed Azerbaijan among the countries believed to be hosting such labs.

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During the military operation in Ukraine, the Russian forces found evidence of the US and Germany funding Ukrainian-based biolabs developing what could potentially be components of bioweapons.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the collected evidence suggests that the US had spent more than $200 million on the operation of biolabs in Ukraine. According to the Russian military, the investment fund of Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, was participating in financing the program.