Russia has offered to provide its COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine free of charge to UN staff.
This was stated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin during a video message at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.
“Russia is ready to provide all the necessary qualified assistance to the UN, in particular, we offer to provide our vaccine free of charge for voluntary vaccination of employees of the Organization and its divisions.
We receive such appeals from colleagues from the UN, and we will not remain indifferent to them, ”the President said.
Recall that on August 11, Russia was the first in the world to register a vaccine against the coronavirus infection COVID-19.
The drug was named after the first artificial Earth satellite - "Sputnik V".
The vaccine is expected to enter civilian circulation on January 1, 2021.
The UN is grateful for the offer to provide its employees with a Russian vaccine against coronavirus free of charge, UN Secretary General's spokesman Stefan Dujarrick told TASS.
“We are grateful to President Putin for his generous offer, which will be examined by our medical service,” he said.
During his speech, Putin touched upon the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.
The President pointed out that the pandemic has become a fundamentally new challenge, and the disease has directly affected millions of people.
He also noted that the full scale of the pandemic-related socioeconomic shock has yet to be assessed.
Putin said the economy will definitely take a long time to recover.
In this regard, the President of the Russian Federation recalled the Russian idea of introducing green corridors free from trade wars and sanctions, primarily for essential goods, food, medicines, personal protective equipment required to combat the pandemic.
“On the whole, clearing, freeing world trade from barriers, bans, restrictions, illegitimate sanctions could be a good help for restoring global growth and reducing unemployment,” the Russian leader said.
The President stressed that we are talking about an acute global social problem, therefore "the mission of politics now is to pave the way for trade, joint projects and fair competition, and not tie the hands of business and business initiative."
On the role of the UN and the inadmissibility of attempts to distort history
In his speech, the Russian leader also noted that the UN Charter remains the main source of international law, and the organization itself is successfully fulfilling its mission of preserving peace.
At the same time, Putin stressed that "the UN should not stiffen, but should reflect in its development the dynamics of the 21st century, consistently adapt to the realities of the modern world, and it is indeed becoming more complex, multipolar, multidimensional."
The President of the Russian Federation recalled that forgetting the lessons of history is shortsighted and extremely irresponsible.
“As well as politicized, not based on facts, but on speculation, attempts to arbitrarily interpret the reasons, course and results of World War II, to alter the decisions of the Allied conferences and the Nuremberg Tribunal,” Putin said.
As the Russian leader noted, attempts to revise history are especially dangerous when the arms control system degrades, regional conflicts continue and the threats posed by terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking are escalating.
Putin stressed that Russia will make every effort to promote a peaceful, politico-diplomatic settlement of regional crises and conflicts and to ensure strategic stability.
The top priority issue requiring a prompt decision, Putin called the extension of the Treaty of Russia and the United States on Strategic Offensive Arms, which expires in February 2021.
Along with this, the Russian leader expressed his hope for mutual restraint in the deployment of new missile systems.
He noted that since last year, Russia has declared a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range ground-based missiles in Europe and other regions of the world as long as the United States refrains from similar measures.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet heard a reaction to our proposal from either our American partners or their allies,” the Russian president stated.
Trump's appeal
During his speech to the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump urged the organization to hold China accountable for the spread of the coronavirus infection COVID-19.
"In the early days (spread. -
RT
) of the virus, China stopped travel inside the country, while allowing planes to leave China and infect the world ... The United Nations should hold China accountable for its actions," RIA Novosti quoted Trump as saying.
Trump called the confrontation with COVID-19 "a fierce fight against an invisible adversary - the Chinese virus that has claimed countless lives in 188 countries."
Reuters
© United Nations
At the same time, the head of the White House mentioned that three drugs against cororavirus are in the final stages of clinical trials in the United States.
According to him, their production is already underway, so that after approval it will be possible to start fighting the virus.
Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, said that China rejects all of Trump's accusations regarding the coronavirus.
According to him, the statements of the American leader are groundless.
Subsequently, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a video message at the UN General Assembly session, said that any attempts to politicize the COVID-19 virus should be rejected.
“As we face the virus, we must build solidarity and get through it together.
We must follow science, fully promote WHO's leadership, and launch an international response mechanism to defeat the virus.
Any attempts to politicize or stigmatize in this matter should be rejected, ”RIA Novosti quotes the words of the PRC leader.