Russia Refutes Western Attempts To Blame China For COVID-19

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wednesday criticized the statements of the governments of the United States and some European countries that seek to hold China responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also condemned the lawsuits filed by several countries that claim to demand billions of dollars from Beijing as compensation for allegedly failing to notify the international community of the deadly virus in time.

“President Donald Trump has also addressed this issue during one of his recent press conferences, stating that the U.S. could file similar claims, but demanding much larger amounts of money,” the Russian minister said and added that “this is all very sad.”

Lavrov stressed that all countries’ top priority should be to overcome the pandemic as soon as possible because scientists predict the new virus could accompany us for a long time.

Amid serious internal crises over the mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis in their own countries, Washington and some European governments accused China and the World Health Organization (WHO) of covering up the virus outbreak.

Using this pretext, the Trump administration suspended funding for the WHO, sparking a wave of international condemnation and rejection.

However, as the White House accuses Beijing of the existence of the new coronavirus, the Chinese government asked the United States to explain what its bio-laboratories do in Georgia and other eastern European countries.​​​​​​​