MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/. The initiatives to combat the spread of the coronavirus that Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward at a virtual G20 summit can turn out to be effective, Chairman of the Board of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s Development and Support Foundation Andrei Bystritsky told TASS.

"Putin said quite reasonable things. We can already see that the pandemic’s economic impact is going to be far more serious than that of the 2008 crisis," he pointed out. "As for Putin’s initiatives, they sound sensible. There is a need to advance cooperation in terms of international regulations and pave the way for mutual assistance. If we say that the coronavirus is a challenge for our civilization, it means that it is a challenge for our humanist principles, too," the expert added.

During Thursday’s emergency summit of the G20 group, Putin called for creating green corridors free of trade wars and sanctions in order to ensure mutual supply of medicine, food, equipment and technologies. He also proposed that the International Monetary Fund create a mechanism to provide long-term interest-free loans to countries.

Regulatory mechanisms

"It is extremely important to establish a regulatory mechanism in order to refocus the international community’s capabilities, so that we see that it is capable of responding to the rapidly changing situation," Bystritsky noted. According to him, "if threats fade in some area, then the focus should shift to more endangered ones." The expert emphasized that the G20 is the only global body that can bring the international community’s members together to combat the pandemic. "The G20 is a very effective platform. If G20 leaders come together - and leaders play a great role in today’s world - then the fight against the pandemic will gain momentum," the analyst said.