MOSCOW, April 28./TASS/. Russia expected that a coronavirus-centered videoconference among the leaders of the United Nations Security Council Permanent Five could be held as early as this week, but other participants need additional time to get prepared, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after an informal videoconference among BRICS’ foreign ministers on Tuesday.

"Regarding a video conference by leaders of the UN Security Council permanent member states, that is being scheduled to discuss the coronavirus, there is no concrete date as of yet," he said. "We were ready to hold it this week, but as I understand some countries need to look further into the situation," the Russian diplomat added.

The five permanent members are now "mulling over their contribution to formulating ways to fight coronavirus. For this, a videoconference has been coordinated in principle. The precise date for holding it is now under consideration," the foreign minister said on Monday.

On January 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at the Jerusalem-hosted World Holocaust Forum when he proposed organizing a summit for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in 2020.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 3,000,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 211,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 923,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.