The United States has sent Russia a formal diplomatic complaint demanding more information about the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague research facility in Siberia, a source familiar with the matter told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.
The Trump administration’s request came in the form of a demarche. A demarche is an official diplomatic communication that states the U.S. position, and it can be used to protest or object to a foreign government’s actions.
The complaint also followed reports of quarantine procedures in the region. It marks an escalation in Washington’s push for credible information about the possible spread in Siberia of pneumonic plague, a highly infectious and fatal disease.
The State Department confirmed the effort when NewsNation asked about the demarche.
“We have officially requested additional information from the Russian government,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We are also in official communication with other countries around the world to share information.”
The demarche served as a reminder to Moscow of its responsibilities under the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations. Those rules require countries to share timely and complete public health information about dangerous infectious threats such as plague, so that international spread can be assessed and prevented.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the official U.S. request.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the situation on Tuesday. He told reporters it was “incumbent” on Russia to share more information with the rest of the world.
Rubio said the initial information Moscow provided did not justify alarm. But he made clear the administration is watching closely.
“It is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we’re doing that,” Rubio said.
The secretary laid out what the U.S. knows based on what Russian officials have shared so far.
“We know what we know, obviously, about whatever the Russians have provided, which is it seems that there was a worker at the lab that was infected, and there’s concern that that could have spread, at least internally. So you’ve seen them do quarantines with this — of that nature,” he said.
The demarche represents a formal step up from earlier public calls for transparency. By putting its request through official diplomatic channels, the administration is putting Russia on notice that the U.S. expects answers about what happened at the Siberian facility.
At the same time, the State Department is reaching out to other nations to share what it learns. That coordination reflects the international stakes of a possible outbreak of a disease as dangerous as pneumonic plague.
For now, U.S. officials are stressing vigilance rather than panic. Rubio’s comments made clear the administration does not see the information it has received as cause for alarm, but it is not prepared to take Moscow’s word at face value either.
The ball is now in Russia’s court. The administration has made its position clear through the demarche: Moscow must provide the timely and complete information it is obligated to share under international health rules.
[READ MORE: Trump Administration Demands Answers From Russia After Death at Plague Research Lab]
