20 May 2011. PenzaNews. The international community continues to discuss actively appeared on this week information in mass-media that Georgia under the cover of realization of the American program on prevention of biological weapon spreading would carrying out research on invention of different new viruses on its territory.

In particular, microbiologists and virologists of the United States (The United States Army Medical Research Institute for infectious diseases (USAMRIID, Fort-Detrick) and Georgia (Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology, Tbilisi, Georgia) conduct research into cholera agents and new methods of their identification.

According to the foreign mass-media, in 2002 the Defense Ministries of Georgia and the U.S. signed the agreement "On cooperation in the field of technologies and pathogens associated with the development of biological weapons and the proliferation of information in this area". In September 2004, during Senator Richard Lugar’s visit to Tbilisi it was agreed on establishment of the Central laboratory assistant in the village Alekseevka near Tbilisi.

Building of Central Public Health Reference Laboratory in Georgia has been declared as a part of realization of the international program of the USA on reduction of biological threats in the world, developed in 1991 by the senator Richard Lugar. Cooperation within the limits of the program is also carried out between the USA and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The erection of the laboratory which is officially intended for realization of the program on prevention of biological weapon spreading, scientific researches and monitoring of an epidemiological situation was finished in December, 2009. The project cost made 100 m dollars.

Andrew Weber, an adviser for threat reduction policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense of the USA, the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, John Bass, and also the Prime Minister of Georgia Nika Gilauri took part in the official opening ceremony of the laboratory which took place on March, 18, 2011. The Prime Minister during the opening ceremony declared that the similar laboratories were located in three or four countries in the world.

He said: "The fact that the USA have chosen Georgia, is a great honor for us. The Georgian scientists have a chance to become number one and to improve their professional level".

According to the information, the director of the laboratory is Anna Zhvanija who occupied various high posts in the government of Georgia. Till February, 2008 she was the director of reconnaissance services of Georgia.

According to the observers, the laboratory in Georgia which work is partially hush-hushed, is a link in a line of the similar establishments equipped by the Americans in Europe, Thailand, Egypt and Kenya — strategically important regions for the USA. So, for example, Europe is one of axes of the American hegemony, Thailand — the Asian base of the USA, Kenya — the base for influence spreading to East Africa and Indian Ocean. The choice of Georgia for a laboratory building is caused by the closeness to the Russian borders.

According to mass-media, in 2007 epizootic of African swine fever struck the territory of Georgia. And the outbreak of exotic disease swept mainly the region of Javakheti, populated mostly by ethnic Armenians. Besides, in the beginning of 2011 a new flu virus H3N2 appeared in Georgia.

In 2008-2011 epizootic of African swine fever struck the territory of North Caucasus and the south of Russia. According to the Head of Rosselkhoznadzor Sergey Dankvert, the virus penetrated into the territory of the Russian Federation from Georgia.

Meanwhile, some authoritative experts living in Georgia assume that it is hardly possible to have a bio-weapons laboratory on the territory of the country.

Zakaria Kutsnashvili, the head of non-governmental organization "Law for People" said: "I am not sure that the information about the researches on invention of viruses is true, because there are no such laboratories here. Besides, there are no experts who can work at such scale projects. I think that it is a myth, not objective information".

However the experts from Europe are objective about the situation and share their opinions concerning the event, though it is difficult for many of them to believe that the Americans work at secret biological projects in Georgia.

The Research Fellow from the Institute of International Relations, Prague Ondrej Ditrych said: "I found it difficult to believe but if this information was true to life such kind of work would spoil the reputation of the country, especially in the West. I don't think that the government of Georgia would want to run such a risk, because it tries to impress the West through reforms and democratization. Speaking about the weapons themselves, it is necessary to study its potential and to make the threat assessment".

In turn, the director of the Hungarian Environmental Partnership for Central Europe Zsuzsa Foltanyi made a supposition about why the USA could carry such researches on the territory of Georgia.

She said: "I am almost sure that the USA have created the laboratory on the territory of Georgia because the laws in the Caucasian republic are not so strict, as in America. In my opinion, it is the key moment which will allow to clear the situation."

Answering the question why Georgia carries that biological researches, the head of the STP's Middle East section Dr. Kamal Sido said that it would be of advantage for Georgia to have such a "trump card".

He said: "If Georgia has such biological weapons, it can be used as a "trump card" against Russia, Armenia or Turkey, and against any nearby state with which the problems can appear. For example, with Russia it is a problem of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia also has problems with Armenia: we know that on the territory of the country there is a small part of the land where the Armenians live [Samtshe-Javaheti]. With Turkey it can be problems in the area of Batumi — Adzharia. In my opinion, if Saakashvili has such weapons it will be dangerous for the region, because the country will always use it, even for the decisions concerning internal problems. I think, it is necessary to make so that Georgia won’t have a possibility to have such weapons".