Russia FM rejects making virus battle political

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday decribed allegations blaming China for the outbreak of the new coronavirus as going "beyond any norms of decency."

This comes after claims were made against Russia for using the coronavirus outbreak to expand its political influence, which Lavrov angrily rejected, saying that the world needs unity to fight the pandemic.

Russia in February provided medical aid to China and later dispatched assistance to Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and various ex-Soviet nations.

Russia has registered 21,102 coronavirus cases and 170 deaths as of Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered most Russians to stay off work until the end of April as part of a partial economic shutdown to stymie the spread of the virus.