Russia Gives Green Light to Trump-Putin Call
While international doubts persist regarding a worker who died at a plague research center in Siberia, the Moscow administration announced that it is open to a phone call between the two leaders.
The Russian government announced that they are open to scheduling a quick phone call between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to address the death of Darya Shipilova, an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute.
Potential Call Between Leaders
The Russian government stated that it is open to quickly arranging a phone call between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, though no schedule has been finalized yet.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night, President Trump stated that he expects to speak with Putin very soon following the death of 28-year-old Darya Shipilova at the laboratory in Siberia.
Calls for International Transparency
Diplomatic contacts have accelerated after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked the Moscow administration to be more transparent about the incident and share more information with the world.
A State Department spokesperson told CBS News that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had reached out to Russian authorities to request additional information about the incident.
Cause of Death and Laboratory Claims
Russian authorities announced that the cause of death for Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, was an unknown type of pneumonia.
Initial reports had suggested that the young worker contracted pneumonic plague as a result of a laboratory accident.
Measures by Health Institutions
The World Health Organization called on Russia's national health watchdog agency, Rospotrebnadzor, requesting detailed information on the matter.
Rospotrebnadzor announced that precautionary measures had been eased after determining there was no epidemic risk and finding no plague cases among the contacts screened.
Regional and Global Precautions
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated on Thursday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring the situation and taking measures to identify travelers arriving from the affected region.
Meanwhile, neighboring countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have implemented additional border measures.