<p class="wp-block-paragraph">President Donald Trump expressed uncertainty regarding claims that Russia's pneumonic plague is a bioweapon, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring reports about the situation.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Well, we don’t think so. We’re going to find out soon enough, but we don’t think so,” Trump stated to reporters during an announcement in the Oval Office on Wednesday.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“And if you listen to them, it’s under control,” Trump said regarding Russia. “You know, people have said that before about other things. So, we hope it is very sophisticated, very smart, and they’re saying it’s very much under control. So, we hope not.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When asked if Russia's actions were similar to those of China at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump replied, “Well, China didn’t say much, and Russia is not saying much either. But they do say they have it very much under control.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump had previously indicated that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would speak by phone to discuss the plague “very soon,” but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that a call had been arranged.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concerns about the potential global spread of the disease have been heightened by the death of a 28-year-old female staffer, Darya Shipilova, at a Russian anti-plague lab. The pneumonic plague is considered the most virulent form of the plague.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Monday, Trump stated that the United States was “willing to help” Russia contain the plague. World Health Organization head Tedros Ghebreyesus requested clarification from Russia regarding “media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The State Department requested additional information from Moscow on Wednesday regarding the plague situation.</p>