G20 health summit: US pans Russia's action in Ukraine, Moscow says 'don't politicise meet'

Russia has asked fellow G20 members to keep politics out of a global gathering on health issues, after envoys from the United States and some of its allies raised the Ukraine conflict during the health summit in Indonesia on June 20. During the G20 health meeting in Yogyakarta, American, British, Australian, and Canadian officials accused Russia of bombing Ukrainian hospitals.

"Far from promoting global health, Russia has disrupted health services, destroyed health facilities, and continues to strike buildings where innocent civilians including children are sheltering," claimed Andrea Palm, US deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, RT News reported. She further accused Moscow of being "directly at odds with the goals of G20 healthcare and our goal of promoting global health."

According to RT News, the Russian health ministry spokesman Oleg Salagay responded, saying, "We are asking our colleagues not to politicise the G20 health platform and stay within our mandate and discuss healthcare."

Moscow has frequently refuted Ukrainian and Western charges that it was targeting hospitals, citing proof that Kyiv's armed forces were using civilians as human shields and intentionally attacking hospitals and civilian objects in Donbass. Salagay also questioned the notion to establish a slush fund for pandemic preparedness, claiming that it amounted to duplicating and diminishing the World Health Organization's (WHO) position.

The creation of Financial Intermediary Fund carries certain risks: Russian official

“The creation of the so-called Financial Intermediary Fund carries certain risks. It is important to prevent duplication of existing international institutions and fragmentation of financial resources, as well as the weakening of the coordinating role of the WHO,” the Russian official stated according to RT News.

On June 21, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced the foundation of the $1.1 billion fund, which would be funded mostly by the United States, the European Union, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, and private corporations. The funding is intended for economically weaker nations to purchase vaccines, testing, treatments, and other materials needed to combat Covid-19 and future pandemics.

The health conference was conducted in anticipation of the G20 summit in October 2022. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union comprise the group.

Image: AP