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U.S. President Donald Trump said at a White House press briefing that Washington does not believe a suspected outbreak in Russia is linked to a biological weapon, adding that he hopes the situation is under control. "We don't think so. We'll find out soon," he told reporters asked about the origin of the outbreak.

Trump noted that Russia has said it has the situation under control and expressed hope that the country's monitoring system is effective. He also drew a parallel with the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying both China and Russia offered little public information at the time while assuring that everything was under control. He said he had a phone call with President Vladimir Putin scheduled for the same day, which is Putin's birthday.

Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev said an emergency health and epidemic commission was convened on October 2 after reports of a suspected particularly dangerous infection. Russia's consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor reported that an employee of the Irkutsk Plague Control Institute was diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, prompting special measures. Unverified social media claims suggested a plague institute worker had died of pneumonic plague.

Separately, asked about the Nobel Peace Prize due to be announced on October 9, Trump said he did not expect the committee to award it to him. He claimed credit for ending eight wars and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while noting that last year's laureate, Maria Machado, had given him her medal.

Key Takeaways

• Trump said the U.S. does not suspect a biological weapon behind the outbreak in Russia
• A phone call between Trump and Putin was scheduled for the same day, Putin's birthday
• Russian authorities reported a pneumonia case of unknown cause at a plague research institute