Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
As Georgian wine returned to the Russian market, “the hero of the fete”, head of Rospotrebnadzor (the Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights) Gennady Onishchenko from time to time reminds about the careful attitude to the first sprouts of trade and economic relations between the states. Recently, speaking about imports of Kakhetian wine, he suddenly remembered about a Georgian-American biological laboratory near Tbilisi. Onishchenko is sure that African swine fever, which ran riot in southern regions of Russia several years ago “was brought from Georgia without any doubts.” Considering the fact that he spoke about “African fever” in the context of the Georgian-American biological laboratory, the hint about the evil intent of Georgian and American microbiologists working there is obvious.
Probably, if swine fever was considered an act of biological war by Moscow, the laboratory would have been closed long ago, after a diplomatic ultimatum in the context of probable usage of the Ulyanovsk airfield for withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan or reduction of nuclear arsenals. Apparently the Russian authorities don’t consider the laboratory a big threat. However, it is an unpleasant fact for Moscow, granted possible strategic cooperation between Washington and Tbilisi in the sphere of biological security without participation of the Russian side.
There is no doubt that the microbiological laboratory is an American-Georgian strategic facility. In Georgia it is thought to be top secret. It is unseen from the Kakhetia highway, while going close to the huge building and taking pictures there is dangerous.
The central referral laboratory of social healthcare was opened in April 2011. The US deputy defense secretary for nuclear, chemical, and biological security, Andrew Weber, arrived from Washington to the opening ceremony. Nobody hides the fact that the laboratory is a military facility of the USA. “The US army plans to send its experts there, who will provide their functions together with Georgians,” Richard Nolan, the US ambassador in Georgia, stated in the Senate. From the Georgian side the facility is headed by “top secret lady” Anna Zhvania. She used to head the External Intelligence Service for several months.
Construction of the laboratory took $100 million from the US budget. The cost is huge, considering the scales in Georgia and construction prices there. According to the US embassy, the laboratory was built “for eliciting especially dangerous diseases among the population and animals, as well as for epidemiological surveillance and scientific research.” Of course “biological weapon” is not mentioned. In fact, the Americans would hardly locate a laboratory on production of such weapons an hour from Russian tanks located in South Ossetia. The game is much more delicate.
A year after opening the laboratory, it was visited by senator Richard Lugar. The facility was named after him “due to his great contribution to the improvement of chemical, biological, and nuclear security in the world.” Speaking in front of the top secret facility, President Saakashvili said: “There were no such facilities in Soviet Georgia. They didn’t want Georgia to have such things.” Probably “such things” means nuclear and other mass destruction weapons. It’s true that it was taken away from the Caucasus conflict region in 1988. Otherwise, nobody could say what results of the Caucasus conflicts would be.
