Russian Lavrov says Problem of coronavirus origin should be addressed cool-headed

FM Sergey Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  has said the problem of COVID-19 origin should be addressed cool-headed. 

We must spot the origin of the novel coronavirus but we must do it cool-headed, leaving emotions aside, Lavrov said in an interview with the Kommersant daily posted on its website on Wednesday. TASS reported.

"There are theories both about bat and about other animals, theories about military sports games in Wuhan that were attended by an American delegation, which lived in a hotel next to the notorious marketplace, and so on and so forth," he said. 

"Such things should be addressed without emotions, cool-headed. It is necessary to analyze facts to get a better understanding of the crisis genesis and to learn lessons from it to be more prepared for possible new pandemics, rather than to try to find in this flood of information only what can tarnish your competitor."

Lavrov said he had heard the British and the Americans saying that "China must pay trillions to pay up for not informing others in due time." 

Apart from that, "the mortal combat between the Democrats and the Republicans" is still in place, with President Donald Trump being accused of ignoring the potential threat and counterclaims in the opposite direction.