Proposals by the United Nations for a global ceasefire during the covid-19 pandemic are being quietly blocked by the United States and Russia, it has emerged.

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General, has urged warring countries to declare a temporary truce and focus all their attention on fighting the virus. “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war,” he said on March 23.

He urged warring factions to “pull back from hostilities: silence the guns, stop the artillery, end the airstrikes.”

He reiterated his call on Saturday night, addressing viewers during the One World At Home broadcast organised by Lady Gaga.

But his efforts are being undermined by Washington and Moscow, Foreign Policy reported.

Both countries are said to agree on the need for ceasefires in war zones such as Syria, Libya, and Yemen.

They both fear, however, that a universal ceasefire agreement could potentially limit their own efforts to mount what they consider legitimate counterterrorism operations overseas.

The US is also concerned, the magazine reported, that a ceasefire could constrain Israel’s ability to carry out military operations in the Middle East.

On Wednesday Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said that there had been progress in the UN Security Council on agreeing a resolution which goes some way towards meeting Mr Guterres’s goal.

The resolution is expected to promote limited ceasefires in conflict zones. It stops short, though, of Mr Guterres’s wish for a universal, global ceasefire.

Kelly Knight Craft, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Thursday that she hoped negotiations over the French-drafted resolution would conclude this week.

A spokesman for the state department told Foreign Policy that they supported Mr Guterres’s initiative, but also reserved the right to carry out their own operations.

“The United States supports the Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire, but have noted that we will continue to fulfill our legitimate counterterrorism mission,” the spokesman said.

The United States also declined to join a list of more than 70 countries, including close allies such as Britain, France, and Germany, that co-signed a letter welcoming the Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire.

Russia’s foreign ministry issued a similar statement to the state department, confirming that they supported Mr Guterres’s March 23 statement but insisting they be allowed to continue their own operations.

“We are highly concerned over the situation on territories controlled by terrorist groups, who could not care less about people’s wellbeing,” Moscow said. “These zones might potentially become most prone to the spread of infection. We are confident that counter-terrorist measures must be carried on.”