Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised on Tuesday the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for quickly coordinating the COVID-19 response and adapting to the emerging threat
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised on Tuesday the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for quickly coordinating the COVID-19 response and adapting to the emerging threat.
"We [CIS foreign ministers] noted that the CIS, as a whole, responds quickly to the changing reality and develops agreed steps to counter the pandemic. The coordination council for territories sanitary protection from infectious diseases, which was created some time ago without any reference to the current coronavirus infection, is actively functioning," Lavrov said at a press conference, held after CIS foreign ministers' talks.
CIS foreign ministers have agreed to improve the existing mechanisms and strengthen CIS' regulatory framework on infectious diseases prevention, Lavrov added.
"In this regard, we agreed to accelerate the development of the two draft agreements proposed by the Russian Federation: one on cooperation on sanitary protection of CIS territories, and another one on prevention and response to public health emergencies of sanitary and epidemiological nature," Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister expressed the belief that the COVID-19 pandemic was a test for countries' ability to combine efforts in critical situations.
