Germany on Wednesday slammed the US decision to suspend payments to the World Health Organization (WHO) as Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned against "blaming others" for the coronavirus crisis.
US President Donald Trump announced the funding freeze on Tuesday, accusing the WHO of "severely mismanaging" the spread of the virus.
"Blaming others won't help. The virus knows no borders," Maas wrote on Twitter. "One of the best investments is to strengthen the UN, above all the under-financed WHO... in the development and distribution of tests and vaccines."
Meanwhile, a senior Russian official said Trump's freeze on WHO funding is a selfish response to the global pandemic.
"We see yesterday's announcement by Washington on freezing funding of the WHO as most concerning. It is a sign of the very selfish approach of the US authorities to what is happening in the world due to the pandemic," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS.
African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said Trump's decision is "deeply regrettable".
"Today more than ever, the world depends on WHO's leadership to steer the global #Covid_19 pandemic response. Our collective responsibility to ensure WHO can fully carry out its mandate, has never been more urgent," Faki said in a Twitter post.
The US is the biggest contributor to the WHO, making payments of $400 million last year. Trump accused the Geneva-based body of putting "political correctness above life-saving measures".
The move sparked criticism across the world, and Maas joined the chorus on Wednesday, stressing the need for countries to "work together closely against COVID-19".
Maas has previously taken aim at the Trump administration's reaction to the virus crisis.
In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine last week, he said the US had "played down the virus for a very long time".
"There really isn't any dispute, even in the USA, that many of the measures were taken too late," he said.
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