MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. The Kremlin regrets that a number of EU countries have been prohibited by their allies from asking Russia for assistance in the struggle against the coronavirus, Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov told the media on Thursday.
"The Kremlin reacts to this with regret. True, we received such information long ago. We know that in a number of European capitals the ambassadors of some countries insistently recommend the leaders of these countries to refrain by all means from cooperation with Russia in the field of humanitarian assistance and so on," Peskov said.
"Some ambassadors defy the rules of diplomatic etiquette to demand the host countries reject the assistance that has been or is being provided," he said. "This is regrettable in principle and can cause regret and misunderstanding in particular at this no easy moment for the whole world, which on the contrary requires mutual assistance and mutual trust."
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an article for the Chinese daily The Global Times that some Western countries were prohibited by their allies from seeking Russia's assistance in the struggle against the coronavirus pandemic. There have been absurd accusations that Russia wishes to use humanitarian and medical cooperation with the aim of enhancing its geopolitical influence, Lavrov said.