US President Donald Trump said that Washington is ready to assist Italy in the fight against coronavirus infection. This is stated in the memorandum signed by Trump, which is posted on the White House website.

The document says that US assistance will help mitigate the effects of the crisis and reduce the risk of re-transmission of infection from Europe to the United States, as well as "demonstrate the leadership of the United States in the face of the Russian and Chinese disinformation campaign."

In late March, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia and China of spreading misinformation about the United States’s struggle with the epidemic. At the same time, the State Department did not specify what exactly the misinformation is, and did not provide any evidence.

In the Russian Foreign Ministry, US allegations of alleged Russian involvement in the disinformation campaign about the coronavirus were called a stuffing.

In turn, the representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, recalled that the country from the very beginning of the epidemic has maintained a transparent and responsible position, transmitting all the information about the disease to WHO and other countries, including the United States.

“US officials say China is spreading false information and propaganda. I do not know what information they consider false. China's success in fighting the epidemic or China’s humanitarian assistance to other countries? ” - RIA Novosti quoted her as saying.

Recall that today, Italy is the most affected by the coronavirus European country. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of infections there exceeded 147 thousand, more than 18 thousand people died.

Russia soon after the deteriorating situation in Italy offered the country assistance in the fight against coronavirus. Defense Ministry experts, together with the Italian military, disinfected about 50 buildings and institutions in the country. In addition, Russian medical and nursing teams, together with Italian colleagues, provide treatment for patients with coronavirus in the Bergamo Field Hospital around the clock.

  • Reuters
  • © Yuri Gripas

The First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Dzhabarov, in a conversation with RT called what was happening a classic manifestation of American politics.

“When the epidemic in Italy comes to naught, the Americans will say that everything happened thanks to their help. But the main thing is not who will help. I want to say that we are very sympathetic to the American people, there are terrible losses, we pray that we do not have this. But if the Americans turn to us for help, our leadership will not say anything bad to them, ”he said.

US actions are partly dictated by the logic of rivalry, said Anton Morozov, member of the State Duma’s international affairs committee. The deputy explained that Washington does not want to be among the laggards, despite the fact that he himself is experiencing serious problems in the fight against the pandemic.

“I think their help in this case will be more of a symbolic nature than of any practical significance. Russia, for its part, will continue to provide assistance to Italy, and most importantly, to study the spread of the virus and develop effective methods to combat it, ”the deputy added.

It is worth noting that earlier the Eurogroup for the second time decided to create a temporary specialized fund to level the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the European economy.

The Eurogroup's final statement clarifies that the support program for the union countries affected by the pandemic will be based on "the existing expanded conditions for a preventive credit line."

  • Russian military specialist disinfects a boarding house for the elderly in Italy
  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / RIA Novosti

Prior to this, some EU countries criticized the actions of Brussels in a pandemic. In particular, Italy accused the union and bloc countries of lack of unity.

“Italy has already asked to use the EU civil protection mechanism to ensure the supply of personal protective equipment. However, unfortunately, not one of the EU countries responded to the call of the European Commission. Only China went towards. This is clearly not the best manifestation of European solidarity, ”said Maurizio Massari, Italy’s representative to the EU, on March 10 in an article for Politico.

Director of the Institute for Contemporary State Development Dmitry Solonnikov expressed the opinion that the United States feels that Italy is becoming a weak link in the pro-American line in Europe.

“Now the situation is complicated, and the future of Italy’s foreign policy is far from clear. Information is constantly coming that Italian politicians are starting to take off the flags of the European Union, the Italian public supports the friendly steps of Russia with China, the Italian parliamentarians adopt a resolution on the need to lift sanctions against Russia, ”he recalled.

The expert noted that in this situation, Washington will take all possible steps to prevent Italy from falling out of a single course.