Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: The European Union’s claims that Russia and China have been spreading disinformation about the coronavirus situation have no facts to rely on, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after an informal videoconference of the BRICS foreign ministers.
“As far as claims by the European External Action Service are concerned, the claims that our countries have been allegedly spreading disinformation about everything that is happening in relation to the coronavirus, it would be inappropriate even to make comments, because not a single fact that might back up such allegations has been presented to us,” Lavrov said.
Russia is already in the habit of seeing “its Western partners ever more often try to find some uniting motives in their fantasies about a Russian or some other threat.”
“That there is nothing concrete behind this can be easily seen by taking a look at the facts that are regularly published about the activity of this or that country in connection with the reaction to the coronavirus,” Lavrov stated.
Lavrov said that Russia does not approve the statement by Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar regarding the transfer of power in Libya to the LNA.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, following an informal meeting of the BRICS member states’ foreign ministers Tuesday.
“We did not approve the statement made by Mr. [Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord Fayez] Sarraj, who refused to talk with Field Marshal Haftar, and we do not approve the statement that Field Marshal Haftar will now single-handedly decide how the Libyan people should live,” he said.
Russia will propose a number of initiatives to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic, including in the social and economic spheres, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“We will present to you several Russian initiatives, aimed at allowing us to react more efficiently to the challenges, created by the coronavirus outbreak. We are talking not only about security and health, but also social, economic and financial spheres, labor markets, well-being of people, sustainable development goals,” he said.
Lavrov proposed the BRICS nations to closely coordinate their efforts to fight the pandemic, including in the international structures.
“We have all necessary mechanisms and platforms for such work. This is, first and foremost, the United Nations and its organizations, as well as the G20, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization and others,” he underscored.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus – named COVID-19 by the WHO – have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia. (TASS)
