MOSCOW, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — Russia is wrapping up talks with neighbouring countries — most having U.S.-made military-grade biological laboratories — on the transparency of bio lab operations, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

It is “very difficult to understand” what those U.S.-made facilities work on, he was quoted by TASS news agency as telling the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, on Wednesday.

“We are now wrapping up talks with our neighbouring countries that have these laboratories so they work in a transparent manner,” he added.

One goal of the talks is to make sure that foreign military personnel will not be given access, Lavrov said, citing concern about pathogens that could potentially be used as warfare substances.

The United States, as a country with the most bio-military activities in the world, has not only bio-defence bases at home but also more than 200 bio-laboratories overseas.

The serious lack of transparency of those facilities and their potential security risks have been a major concern of the international community.

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