UNITED NATIONS, September 22. /TASS/. Russia supports the call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for global ceasefire amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"The Russian Federation believes that the UN Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic to be extremely timely, and the CSTO member states unanimously supported it," he said in a video statement on behalf of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at the UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN.
According to the minister, the Cold War that began shortly after the creation of the UN prevented the global organization from fully unleashing its creative potential.
"New hope was born only 44 years later, with the fall of the Berlin wall as a symbol of the geopolitical confrontation between two irreconcilable systems. This was not just about preventing military confrontation, but also overcoming mistrust, inequality and reigning in neo-colonial aspirations, as well as promoting constructive cooperation for the sake of building a shared future," he said.
"It is unfortunate that today military conflicts continue unabated in various regions, supplemented by a number of challenging threats the world is facing today: international terrorism, drug trafficking, cybercrime, and climate change," the foreign minister continued. "This year, another major challenge was added to this list: the coronavirus pandemic that sparked grave socioeconomic and other crises.".