WHO chief dismisses Pompeo's comments as "untrue and unacceptable"
By Trend
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo's latest comments on the relations between the UN health body and China is "untrue and unacceptable, without any foundation," Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Speaking at a routine briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the sole focus of the WHO is on saving lives, and that the organization "will not be distracted by these comments, and we don't want the entire the international community also to be distracted."
According to a Bloomberg report quoting sources who were present at a private meeting between Pompeo and a group of UK lawmakers in London on Tuesday, Pompeo alleged that "firm intelligence" showed that a deal had been done to get Tedros the job of WHO director-general -- and that this had resulted in the deaths of UK citizens from coronavirus.
Tedros reiterated that the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the greatest threats, as it does not respect borders, ideologies, or political parties.
"I have said it many times. COVID[-19] politics should be quarantined. And I'm appealing again to all nations to work together. Politics and partisanship have made things worse. So, what is very important is science, solutions and solidarity. But I repeat, the allegations are untrue, and without any foundation."