The European Commission and Russia supported the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump's threat to permanently cut funding.
"This is the time for solidarity," said Commission spokesperson Virginie Battu at a press briefing in Brussels. "It is not the time for finger pointing or undermining multilateral cooperation," she said.
Multilateral efforts are the only viable option to defeat the new coronavirus (Covid-19), according to Battu.
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Russia also denounced US attempts to "break up" the WHO, "which would go in the direction of the political or geopolitical interests of a single state, in other words the United States," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov, quoted by Russian news agencies.
Trump accused the WHO of mishandling the coronavirus crisis and threatened to permanently withdraw US contributions if it did not commit to "major substantive improvements" within 30 days. He also accused the organisation of being a puppet of China.
The Brussels Times
