Tackling COVID-19 requires solidarity, not slanders: Russian lawmaker

The threats voiced by the White House against China prove Washington keeps preaching egoism, Slutsky said.

MOSCOW, April 21 (Xinhua) -- "China is by no means an accomplice of the virus" but "a victim" of COVID-19 just like other countries, a Russian lawmaker said Monday, opposing the U.S. administration's attempt to frame up China.

In the face of a common threat, everyone should show solidarity, not point fingers at each other or look for someone to blame, Russia's official news agency RIA Novosti quoted Leonid Slutsky, head of the International Affairs Committee of the State Duma, or the lower house of the parliament, as saying.

"As soon as the infection curve stabilized a bit, Washington immediately started talking about the possible responsibility or even punishment of China for the outbreak of COVID-19," Slutsky said, adding that the threats voiced by the White House against China prove Washington keeps preaching egoism.

"In a situation when people's lives are at stake, such methods look even more cynical," Slutsky said. ■