Lavrov Slams 'Unfair' Criticism of WHO’s Activities amid Pandemic
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Accusations against the World Health Organization (WHO) of withholding information about the spread of the coronavirus are unfair, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"The UN special agencies remain a mechanism for multilateral cooperation in relevant areas, and there is no alternative to them," he said, delivering a video conference lecture for MGIMO University students.
"This fully applies to the WHO’s activities," he added, TASS reported.
"We believe that a barrage of criticism against that organization, attempts to pin the blame for what is happening on it are absolutely counterproductive and unfair.
"The organization at all stages of the crisis, in our view and according to the assessment of most states, acted professionally, taking timely proactive steps and spreading information and its recommendations to all states."
On April 14, US President Donald Trump said that Washington would halt funding to the WHO, accusing it of "severely mismanaging" the coronavirus pandemic.