France's President says he is hopeful of securing Putin's agreement on global truce

French President Emmanuel Marcon on April 15 said that he is confident of securing Russia's vote on a United Nations plea calling for a global ceasefire so the world can focus on handling the coronavirus outbreak. Macron was speaking to Radio France Internationale, where he said that he has secured the vote of three of the five permanent UN Security Council members. Macron said that the United States, China and the United Kingdom have agreed to back the truce. 

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According to reports, Macron spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the United States President Donald Trump and the United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who have all agreed to the UN plea of a global ceasefire. Macron said that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the start of the initiative but haven't spoken to him since he secured confirmations from other leaders. Macron said that he was hopeful that Putin will agree to back the plea in the coming hours. 

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The United Nations Security Council met for the first time on April 9 since the global pandemic began earlier this year. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all members to agree on a ceasefire that he had earlier called for on March 23. The 15-member body had been discussing the French text for a draft resolution on global truce to which the five veto-wielding countries will vote for.

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Coronavirus outbreak

The deadly Coronavirus infection has claimed more than 1,27,500 lives across the world and has infected over 20,14,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last month before Italy, Spain, US, UK, Iran and France surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: AP)