MASK DIPLOMACY [ENGLISH, CURRENT AFFAIRS]

Coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic, which started in Wuhan, China in December 2019 was defined as a pandemic shortly after its outbreak by the World Health Organization (WHO); and has taken world by the storm. As of April 4, 2020, the total number of cases has exceeded 1 million and the number of people who lost their lives has exceeded 60.000.

During the process in which Coronavirus epidemic affecting all actors of the international system, the sharing of medical aid materials with other states has come to the fore and emerged as a new type of diplomacy. Whilst a number of states including Turkey are sending medical aid supplies to Spain and Italy that have become the new epicenters of the Coronavirus pandemic, the EU’s failure to provide (or be able to provide) aid at the first stage opened itself to criticisms. Based on these criticisms, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen wrote an article in La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper on April 1, admitting that they failed to provide solidarity to Italy early on and apologized for that.