Russian parliament leader says COVID-19 could link to U.S. lab leak

MOSCOW, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The novel coronavirus could be associated with a leak from a U.S. biological laboratory, said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower parliament house the State Duma, on Tuesday.

"There was a leak from one of those laboratories that they have opened around the world. It would be right if the government of the Russian Federation raises the issue (of responsibility for the COVID-19 outbreak)," Volodin told a session of the Council of Legislators.

"The U.S. laboratories where scientists study, explore and maybe even create new biological weapons are now located in Georgia, in some counties of Eastern Europe. That must be taken under control," he said, according to an official press release.

According to media reports, the United States has set up many bio-labs in 25 countries and regions across the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and former Soviet Union, with 16 in Ukraine alone.

Some of the places are believed to have been involved in biological militarization activities.