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Trump said he had a call scheduled with Putin. The development came a day after Trump said the US was ready to help Russia if needed.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon” over the reported death of a laboratory technician at an anti-plague institute in Russia, as Washington pressed Moscow for more information.
Trump said he had a call scheduled with Putin when asked whether he had discussed the case with the Russian leader. The development came a day after Trump said the US was ready to help Russia if needed.
US Seeks Transparency
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Moscow to share more details about the incident, saying greater transparency would help countries respond appropriately.
“We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately,” Rubio said during a visit to Iceland.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US State Department had sent Moscow a confidential diplomatic communication warning that withholding information could conflict with international health obligations.
Russia Rejects Plague Reports
Russian authorities have denied reports of a confirmed plague case or special anti-plague measures in the Siberian city of Irkutsk.
Reports said a 28-year-old technician, identified as Darya Shipilova, may have contracted pneumonic plague after a laboratory accident. Russian officials, however, said tests had not detected the disease.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said an inspection found that the woman had died from pneumonia, while the cause remained “undetermined”. He added that no microorganisms linked to her work were found in her samples and that no other institute employees had sought medical care.
Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor also said an online document claiming special measures had been introduced was not genuine.
“We wish to clarify that the document and information in question do not originate from official sources and are untrue,” it said on Telegram.
WHO Calls For Clarity
The World Health Organization said Russia had reported no confirmed plague case in Irkutsk and had launched an investigation into a case of community-acquired pneumonia involving an employee of the institute.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “timely, complete and transparent information sharing” to resolve conflicting reports and assess any possible public health risk.
The WHO said the risk to Irkutsk was currently “moderate to low” based on available information and that it was monitoring the situation.
Plague is a bacterial disease, with pneumonic plague being the most contagious form. It can spread through respiratory droplets and can be fatal if treatment is delayed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Ask News18US President Donald Trump stated he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin very soon following reports about the death of a laboratory technician at an anti-plague institute in Russia, as Washington pressed Moscow for more information regarding the incident.
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