ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres' support of Russia's anti-sanctions initiative is a "landmark" step in its global promotion, Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian lower house international affairs committee and the author of the initiative, told Sputnik.
In April, as the coronavirus pandemic was spreading fast and shattering the world's economies, Slutsky called on politicians in Europe and the United States to give up the restrictions, which put regular people in extremely difficult situation. Sputnik has obtained this week a copy of a letter by Guterres, who supported the initiative and suggested that UN members should help one another in the fight against the pandemic.�
"The UN secretary-general's support of my letter is a landmark step in the global promotion of this initiative, I believe. As far as I know, the secretary-general is planning to further support this initiative within the United Nations," Slutsky said.
Slutsky said he was planning to contact Guterres on the phone later on Wednesday to "thank him and agree, perhaps, some online conference, in Zoom, with him and high-level UN officials, but later, when the initiative has some more backers."
