Terrorist organizations are trying to take advantage of the difficult situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic to recruit their supporters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.
"In some regions of the world terrorists have been trying to take advantage of the pandemic and the accompanying challenges in order to expand their reach, spread panic and ideas of hate, as well as attract new recruits, primarily among those disgruntled with the way governments responded to the crisis," he noted.
Lavrov noted that the long-running discussions about biological terrorism have become even more relevant. "Let me add that we believe manipulating the subject of coronavirus or biological terrorism in the context of the pandemic or outside of it for the sake of momentary gains to be unacceptable. This includes provocative statements and destructive information campaigns designed to put other countries or international organisations under greater ideological or moral pressure," the Minister continued.
He stressed that preventing terrorists from getting their hands on dangerous chemical substances and biological agents, as well as technology for making chemical or biological weapons is an ever more pressing issue. "In March 2016, Russia proposed drafting an international convention on fighting chemical and biological terrorism at the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament. Russia proposed adopting an international convention that would address a number of issues at the confluence of non-proliferation, disarmament and counter-terrorist activity. Importantly, it sets out norms for direct action by criminalising these reprehensible act," Lavrov noted.
Pandemic and escalating conflicts in the Middle East
There has been no progress in overcoming the most urgent situations in the Middle East. In some cases, this sets the stage for a further escalation, Lavrov thinks.
"The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a ceasefire in hot zones did not stop the bloodshed. A number of countries want to benefit from the ongoing crisis and to satisfy their geopolitical and economic ambitions. They continue to rely on military power for settling regional conflicts. There has been no progress in overcoming the most urgent situations, for example in the Middle East. In some cases, this sets the stage for a further escalation," he said.
Lavrov noted that the pandemic affected international politics and the socioeconomic environment in all their aspects without exception. "The pandemic levelled the playing field for all actors, showing yet again that in today’s interconnected world most threats transcend borders, making it impossible to wait out the whole thing without becoming involved," he stressed.
According to the Minister, all these developments should compel the international community to "set momentary differences aside, at least for some time, and combine efforts in order to come up with a common response to this new global challenge". "However, a positive breakthrough failed to materialise. International affairs are becoming increasingly prone to confrontation, with growing distrust among international actors. Instead of uniting our capabilities in the fight against the coronavirus, we are witnessing attempts to assign blame for the spread of the infection," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Lavrov also drew attention to fact that the policy of “strangling” unwanted regimes with sanctions continues. In particular, he continued, in this context, the UN Secretary-General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for suspending unilateral restrictions on medicines and medical equipment, and the related payment transfers, for the duration of the pandemic, but these calls were ignored. "Those who have been posing for decades as human rights champions were the ones who turned a deaf ear to these calls," he added.
"Once again, we call for joining efforts in fighting this common scourge and using the corona crisis as an opportunity to launch wide-reaching international cooperation for addressing common challenges the humanity is facing," Lavrov concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS