'We hope not': Trump says US doesn't believe Russian plague is a bioweapon
Trump said he has a phone call scheduled with Russian President Putin.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. doesn’t believe the reported death of a lab worker from an anti-plague institute in Siberia is related to a bioweapon, but he acknowledged that Russia has not been forthcoming with information, saying “Russia is not saying much.”
“Well, we don't think so. We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so," the president told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if the plague in Russia was a bioweapon. "And they're saying it's very much under control. So, we hope not.”
Asked if he believes Russia is sharing enough information on the suspected plague case, Trump said Russian officials have shared "a little bit with our people. We expect them to share it a lot with our people," adding "We have brilliant experts. They know everything about what's going on, and all of that information is going through them."
Trump also said he has a phone call “set up” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a claim he also made on Tuesday, which he said then would happen "probably tomorrow." The president said their conversation was expected to touch on the heightened scrutiny of Russia's response after some Russian media and public figures reported a death potentially connected to the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute.
The Kremlin has said no such phone call between the two leaders had been scheduled. In response to an ABC News request for clarification, the White House referred to the president's comments Wednesday.
The U.S. has issued a formal diplomatic complaint known as a démarche over the Russian government's response to the reported death of a lab worker from an anti-plague institute in Siberia, urging the country to increase transparency surrounding the incident, ABC News has learned.
"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 State Department spokesperson said.
A U.S. official said early Wednesday that the démarche was transmitted to representatives of the Russian government within the last few hours. The démarche itself is classified, but the official said it reminds Moscow of its requirements to comply with international health regulations.
Russian authorities have said only that that the case of the lab worker’s reported death was "pneumonia of an unknown cause," with the health agency Rospotrebnadzor saying tests showed no link with her work. They issued a statement saying that "no accidents have been detected at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute while working with pathogenic microorganisms."
Rospotrebnadzor's office for the Irkutsk region issued on Tuesday a statement, saying, "A false message is being circulated online about the introduction of an enhanced sanitary and epidemiological regime and strict restrictions in the Irkutsk region."
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said in a Tuesday health alert that it was aware of the press reports, saying, "We continue to track the situation closely." The State Department reminded Americans not to travel to Russia, saying the U.S. government has limited ability to help its citizens who go there. Additional restrictions may be in place for some regions, the embassy said.
Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that official information would come directly from Rospotrebnadzor, adding, "the media are reporting a great deal right now, and the overwhelming majority of what the media are reporting around this situation is false information."
Rospotrebnadzor issued an additional statement Wednesday, stating in part that "the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk Region and the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is calm" and that "preventive and anti-epidemic measures have been organized in full, and there are no epidemic risks to the population of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region."
"In accordance with the International Health Regulations, Rospotrebnadzor sent information about the situation to the World Health Organization," the statement further said, adding "preventive and anti-epidemic measures have been organized in full, and there are no epidemic risks to the population of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region."
As Russian officials came under scrutiny, U.S. officials offered to provide assistance. Trump said the U.S. was willing to help Russia after the U.S. State Department announced it was monitoring the reportedly fatal case of "pneumonia of an unknown etiology."
"Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we're always willing to help," Trump told reporters Monday.
Asked about how the U.S. is planning to mitigate the risk coming from Russia, Trump said that his administration is "looking at it very strongly."
Russia said it would welcome help from the United States, but also sought to downplay concern.
"It is always very good when mutual assistance is offered," Peskov told journalists on Monday. Peskov then appeared to downplay Trump’s suggestion the issue was a “major problem for Russia,” telling a journalist he had not heard that framing.
"To be honest, I did not hear the president’s words that he considers this a major problem for Russia," Peskov said. "As far as I remember it was not said that way, although I may be mistaken."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked Tuesday in Iceland by ABC News whether he had reason to believe there has been an accidental release of an intentionally modified strain of the plague, said it would "irresponsible for me here to sit and speculate because we just don't have all the information yet."
"I think it's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world. That's what they should do," the secretary said.
Rubio said his department was tracking the situation "hour by hour."
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