BILATERAL BIOTERRORISM LETTER DELIVERED

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001239 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR OES/IHA/HILLESHEIM AND OSTFIELD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER TBIO RS SUBJECT: BILATERAL BIOTERRORISM LETTER DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 30370 ¶B. LONDON 1062 THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) On March 21 we delivered Ref A letter regarding the proposed bilateral bioterrorism working group meeting to Sergey Belousko, Attache, and Mikhail Shurgalin, the Director of the Information Section of the MFA's Department of New Challenges and Threats. Shurgalin said he would share the letter with New Challenges and Threats Deputy Director Vladimir Andreyev immediately, and would provide us with a preliminary reaction as soon as possible. ¶2. (SBU) Shurgalin noted that he and Belousko had discussed the issue generally with OES/IHA officials on the margins of the recent Forensic Epidemiology Workshop in London (Ref B). Belousko confided that it was unlikely the proposed bilateral meeting could be held as soon as April 2007, because it would take time to discuss the goals of the meeting with other agencies and ministries. He said it would also take time to determine the appropriate Russian officials who should attend. BURNS