WHO To Continue Playing Central Role In Fight Against COVID Despite US Withdrawal- Ryabkov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2020) The World Health Organization (WHO) will further play the central role in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic despite Washington's decision to withdraw from the organization, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

According to the diplomat, speaking at the interactive conference "USA - Latin America - Russia: an Agenda for Constructive Cooperation in the Post-COVID-19 Era," some countries in the international arena, unfortunately, continue to pursue their self-serving goals, which seriously harms common interests of the international community.

"It is the context, in which we view the counterproductive decision of the United States to withdraw from the WHO, which plays and, we believe, will continuously play a central role in coordinating global efforts to combat COVID-19," Ryabkov said.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the WHO of being biased in favor of China and of having failed to respond immediately to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In April, the US leader announced a temporary freeze of the US funding for the WHO and warned that the freeze would become permanent unless the organization committed to major changes within the 30 days.

In late May, Trump announced that Washington was terminating its relationship with the WHO and redirecting funds to other global health needs. The president lamented that Beijing contributes a small amount of money to the WHO as compared to Washington and yet exercises complete control over that organization.

In early July, the US formally notified the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of its withdrawal from WHO effective July 6, 2021. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said that the WHO had not yet received a formal letter from the United States confirming the country's withdrawal.