President Joe Biden claimed Monday that Russia accusing Ukraine of having biological weapons may be evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering using chemical weapons against Ukraine in a false flag operation.
Putin’s “back is against the wall and now he’s talking about new false flags he’s setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe, simply not true,” Biden said at the Business Roundtable’s CEO Quarterly Meeting.
Russia is “also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That’s a clear sign he’s considering using both of those. He’s already used chemical weapons in the past, and we should be careful about what’s about to come,” Biden continued.
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Russia has alleged that the U.S. is putting bioweapons in Ukraine to use against Russia. There are bioresearch labs in Ukraine partnered with the U.S. government, but there is no evidence that these labs are being used to develop bioweapons or target Russia. (RELATED: Here’s Why Everyone Is Talking About Biolabs In Ukraine)
“As we have said all along, Russia is inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine. The United States does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine, it is in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention, and it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement March 9.
“It is Russia that has active chemical and biological weapons programs and is in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention,” Price continued.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed concern March 15 of Russia using chemical weapons in a false flag operation, according to Reuters.
Biden said March 11 that Russia would pay a “severe price” if they use chemical weapons, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that the use of chemical weapons would get a “significant reaction.”
“If a chemical or biological weapon was used, you’d see a significant reaction from not only the United States, but also the global community,” Austin said in a Sunday interview on “Face the Nation.” “I don’t want to speculate about what exactly would change our calculation. I think engaging in hypotheticals is probably not helpful here either, but this is a very serious step and as you heard our president say, we won’t take that lightly.”