Russia is sending a plane filled with medical equipment to the United States to help fight the coronavirus following a phone conversation between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
The Russian Embassy Tuesday posted on its social media channels that “Russia may send a plane with medical equipment and protection gear to the United States already on Tuesday,” citing the Russian news agency TASS. Reuters later reported that Russian state TV was saying the flight had taken off early Wednesday morning.
This comes after Trump indicated, without much context, that Russia was sending some sort of medical aid in his Monday coronavirus task force briefing.
“And I have to say, we’ve had great relationships with a lot of countries,” Trump said. “China sent us some stuff, which was terrific. Russia sent us a very, very large planeload of things, medical equipment, which was very nice.”
#StopCovid19
Importantly, when offering assistance to the American colleagues, President Putin is guided by the following consideration: when manufacturers of medical equipment gain momentum they will be able to reciprocate if need be – #Peskov https://t.co/tFzUo330ga— Russia in USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) March 31, 2020
🇷🇺🇺🇸 Following phone talk between Presidents #Putin & @realDonaldTrump #Russia sends largest cargo aircraft An-124 Ruslan ✈️ with 😷 medical supplies (masks + equipment) to #US to help fight #COVID19 pandemic, save lives of American citizens. 🤝 The plane is en route #RussiaHelps pic.twitter.com/efeSK78cuB
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) April 1, 2020
The Russian Embassy’s Twitter account said Tuesday that in sending the aid to the U.S. as it fights to hold down its coronavirus death toll, which the White House has projected is likely to be between 100,000 and 240,000, Russia would hope for help from the United States should the coronavirus pandemic become more severe within its borders later this year.
“Importantly, when offering assistance to the American colleagues, President Putin is guided by the following consideration: when manufacturers of medical equipment gain momentum they will be able to reciprocate if need be,” it said. – READ MORE
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