MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed G20 leaders introduce a moratorium on various restrictions placed on countries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, he said, speaking at the G20 summit held as a video conference on Thursday.
"Much was said now about the need to ensure supply chains are not interrupted, it is undeniably crucial. However, it is equally vital to create the so-called ‘green corridors’ free of trade wars and sanctions to exchange medicine, food, equipment and technology during the crisis," he said.
Putin underlined that G20 countries "ideally" "should introduce a moratorium in solidarity on restrictions placed on essential goods as well as financial transactions to purchase them." "I primarily mean countries who are suffering from the pandemic more than others," he added. According to Putin, "It is a question whether people will live or die, a purely humanitarian issue." "We need to rid these issues of any political husks," he stressed.
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in more than 150 countries.
On March 11, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. As of now, over 457,000 people have been infected around the world and more than 21,000 have died. Russia identified 840 cases, while 38 people recovered, and two people died.