U.S. Uses Chemical Weapons as an Excuse to Extend its Sanctions to Russia's New Coronavirus Vaccine

According to Russian media reports, on August 26 local time, the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a statement that the U.S. has included five Russian scientific research institutions on the sanctions list and suspected that they were engaged in chemical and biological weapons research. Among them, the Scientific Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which is involved in the development of a new coronavirus vaccine, has also been included in the 'blacklist'.

On August 27, local time, Russian Senator Oleg Morozov stated that the U.S. acted for two purposes. One is to make up for their lag in development of new coronavirus vaccines; the other is to prevent Russian vaccines from entering the Western market. Morozov said, 'The United States launched this provocation against the Russian vaccine for two purposes. On the one hand, the United States has lost its 'scientific reputation' because we have now passed sanctions to cover up its failure. On the other hand, they are trying to shut down Russian vaccines from entering the Western market. Of course, the United States’ calculations have been wrong. For many countries, fighting the new coronavirus is a top priority, which means that regardless of U.S. sanctions, there will be demand for Russian vaccines.'

Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, said that the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on Russia’s new coronavirus vaccine research and development agency on the pretext of developing chemical and biological weapons was because they were upset that they were lagging behind Russia in developing vaccines.

Slutsky said, 'All these actions are manifestations of unfair competition. The United States has not concealed its main purpose of containing Russia. They have imposed endless sanctions on the Russian defense industry and scientific research institutions. This time, due to the new coronavirus, the loss of the 'first throne' in vaccine research and development has made the United States feel chagrin. They are gradually messing up with us vulgarly and brazenly. But, as we have seen, this will not actually affect our country's development.'

Kosachev, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council, said, 'Almost without exception, the U.S. sanctions are a tool for creating economic problems for its competitors, not a means for resolving political differences. In this sense, they clearly violated Recognized International Laws and U.S. obligations to the WTO.'

Kosachev said, 'The U.S. sanctions against Russian vaccine research institutions have once again proved the fact that for the U.S., the interests of all mankind are nothing compared to their own interests.'

According to reports, Russia officially registered the world’s first vaccine against the new coronavirus 'Sputnik-V' on August 11. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow and the Russian Ministry of Defense, and officially registered by the Russian government on August 11 . Previously, the United States and other Western countries have repeatedly expressed doubts about the safety and effectiveness of Russian vaccines.

However, it seems that the United States, the world's worst affected country, does not need Russia's new coronavirus vaccine to help solve the problem.