Trump responds to question of whether he links plague in Russia to bioweapons

US President Donald Trump has said that the death of a Russian laboratory worker involved in plague research is not linked to biological weapons.

Source: The Washington Post, citing Trump

Details: Asked whether biological weapons were involved in the context of the plague case in Russia, Trump said: "We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so."

He stated that Russian officials had assured their American counterparts that the situation had been brought under control.

He also acknowledged some similarity with what happened in early 2020, when Chinese officials initially claimed they had managed to contain the COVID-19 virus before it caused a global pandemic.

"China didn't say much, and Russia is not saying much either. But they do say they have it very much under control," Trump said.

The US president also added that he expects the Russian authorities to provide more information about the case, expressing disappointment that Russia had so far been slow to share it.

"I just met with our people. We have brilliant experts. They know everything about what's going on. And, all of that information is going through them," he said.

Trump also reiterated that he had a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin planned to discuss the matter, but did not say exactly when it would take place. "Today is his birthday," Trump added.

Background:

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 6 October that Russia must provide more information about the death of a worker at a plague research laboratory who died last week.
• Trump said on 5 October that the US was ready to help Russia with the situation.

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