The United States has issued a formal diplomatic complaint, known as a démarche, to the Russian government regarding its response to the reported death of a lab worker from an anti-plague institute in Siberia. The U.S. is urging Russia to enhance transparency surrounding the incident.
A State Department spokesperson stated, "We have officially requested additional information from the Russian government. We are also in official communication with other countries around the world to share information."
A U.S. official confirmed that the démarche was transmitted to Russian government representatives. The complaint reminds Moscow of its obligations under international health regulations.
The diplomatic action precedes a scheduled call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump had indicated the call would occur "very soon" and was expected to address the scrutiny over Russia's handling of the situation.
Russian authorities have stated that the lab worker's death was due to "pneumonia of an unknown cause" and that tests showed no connection to her work. Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer protection agency, issued a statement asserting that "no accidents have been detected at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute while working with pathogenic microorganisms."
Despite these assurances, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert, acknowledging the press reports and stating, "We continue to track the situation closely." The embassy also reminded Americans of the limited ability of the U.S. government to assist citizens traveling in Russia.
Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that official information would come from Rospotrebnadzor and characterized much of the media reporting as false. "To be honest, I did not hear the president’s words that he considers this a major problem for Russia," Peskov said regarding Trump's comments, though he acknowledged he might be mistaken.
U.S. officials have offered assistance to Russia. Trump said Monday that the U.S. was willing to help any country facing such a problem. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to speculate on the nature of the incident, stating it would be "irresponsible" without all the information. He emphasized that it is "incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world."
The U.S. State Department has been monitoring the situation, which has been described as a "reported fatal case of pneumonia of an unknown etiology." Rubio confirmed his department was tracking developments "hour by hour."