Russia-Ukraine Crisis: India calls for ban on weapons for mass destruction at UN

New Delhi, Mar 11: India on Friday highlighted the need to implement biological and toxin weapons convention in full letter and spirit amid fears of the Russia-Ukraine conflict turning into a bio-chemical war.

"We have noted the recent statements by States and wider information regarding biological activities relating to Ukraine. In this context, we would like to underline the importance attached by India to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) as a key global and non-discriminatory disarmament Convention, prohibiting an entire category of weapons of mass destruction," TS Tirumurti, India's Permanent Representative to UN, said at the Security Council.

"We sincerely hope the ongoing direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would lead to cessation of hostilities. There's no other alternative except path of diplomacy and dialogue. The dire humanitarian situation needs immediate and urgent attention," he said.

"We once again call upon member states to adhere to the principles of the UN Charter and international law and respect the sovereignty and integrity of states," he further said.

India's concerns emanate from Russian foreign ministry Maria Zakharova's claims accusing Ukraine of running chemical and biological labs with American support.

However, US has said that Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program.

Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program. There are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories supported by the United States, not near Russia's border or anywhere, said US representative to UN at Security Council meeting.